It’s official: Donald Trump wins Michigan Electoral College vote

• Michigan Republicans cast Electoral College votes for President-elect Donald Trump
• Ceremony took place inside the state Senate chambers to little fanfare
• It’s a return to normalcy after a 2020 Electoral College vote marked by failed efforts to overturn President Joe Biden’s win

LANSING — Michigan Republicans cast their electoral ballots for President-elect Donald Trump in a Tuesday meeting at the state Capitol, officially closing the books on the state’s 2024 presidential election cycle.

It was a marked departure from more turbulent efforts to certify President Joe Biden’s win in 2020, when Republicans signed a certificate falsely claiming Trump won the state, leading to criminal charges still being fought in court. 

This time around, the Electoral College vote went off without a hitch. 

“We worked hard to get here, to this point, and we did it. We did it together,” Michigan GOP chair Pete Hoekstra told a group of Republicans gathered in the state’s Senate chambers Tuesday afternoon.

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Trump won Michigan by 81,103 votes in November. He grew his vote share in most parts of the state, having won by just 10,704 votes in 2016, and flipped two counties which backed Biden in 2020. 

That improvement shows the people of Michigan don’t just want Trump back in office, but that they’re ready for “a leader who will make our country respected again … and be a voice for Michigan workers,” state House Speaker-elect Matt Hall said Tuesday. 

“We are going to be a principled group of Republicans who fight back and partner with President Trump as we move forward to make Michigan great again,” he added. 

The Electoral College vote, which concluded just before 4 p.m., was rather uneventful — save for when Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt of Porter Township accidentally broke a gavel when accepting the results of a unanimous vote to give Trump Michigan’s electoral vote.

Republican electors ultimately awarded all 15 of the state’s Electoral College votes to Trump and JD Vance for president and vice president, respectively.

Among those Michigan electors: Hank Choate, Timothy King, Amy Facchinello, Marian Sheridan and Meshawn Maddock, a former Michigan Republican Party co-chair. 

They are among 15 Michigan Republicans still battling criminal charges for allegedly signing a 2020 electors document claiming Trump won the state even though Biden had bested him that year by 154,188 votes. 

In Congressional testimony, former Michigan GOP Chair Laura Cox alleged the alternative Republican electors had contemplated hiding out overnight in the state Capitol to try and cast votes in the Capitol.

They are now facing eight felony charges each, some of which carry sentences of up to 14 years in prison. Six felonies were related to forgery, the others pertaining to uttering and publishing.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty, and a judge has not yet decided whether there is enough evidence to send the cases to trial. 

Maddock, who is now running to succeed Hoekstra as Michigan GOP chair, made no references to her ongoing criminal case as she addressed fellow Republicans at the state Capitol on Tuesday. 

“I want you to savor this moment,” Maddock said. 

“I know, for me, it is very emotional. It feels very vindicating. I’m so proud to be standing here with the incredible leadership of people who stepped in at a very difficult time in our party.”