Crain's Detroit: Michigan GOP May Give Trump State's 16 Electoral Votes

Friday, November 13, 2020

Jeff Timmer and Bob LaBrant: Democracy in Michigan could be in peril. We don't say this to be hyperbolic. Rather, we say it to be blunt about the very real prospect the Republicans who control the Senate and House in Lansing might nullify the clear and decisive victory achieved by Joe Biden in Michigan and hand our state's 16 electoral votes to Donald Trump even though the president lost the state by 150,000 votes. Believe our warning. We have more than 75 combined years at the highest levels of the Republican Party and Lansing politics.

Posted by Gal_Tuesday at 07:30 PM | 36 COMMENTS | permalink | Comment on This Entry |

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You Republicans are not loyal to the country, you're loyal to Trump.

#1 | Posted by Zed at 2020-11-13 11:21 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 6

More evidence the EC needs to be abolished.

#2 | Posted by schifferbrains at 2020-11-13 11:28 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 7

Wayne Circuit Judge dismisses lawsuit against city of Detroit alleging election fraud
www.fox2detroit.com

...A Wayne County judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign over ballot irregularities during the 2020 election.

In an opinion released Friday, Circuit Court Judge Timothy Kenny said there were "no sinister fraudulent activities" at the TCF Center on the day ballots were counted.

"However, sinister, fraudulent motives were ascribed to the process and the City of Detroit. Plaintiffs' interpretation of events is incorrect and not credible."

The Trump campaign tacked on several affidavits from Republican poll watchers and voters alleging irregularities of ballot counting and harassment. However, the court saw many of the allegations as unable to meet the burden of proof required for injunctive relief....

#3 | Posted by LampLighter at 2020-11-13 02:28 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

#3 | Posted by LampLighter

They didn't file a single frivolous lawsuit in Republican counties.

What if, say, Trump picked up 2 extra votes in Kent County, MI? It's been a traditionally dependable Republican area. Biden-Harris beat Trump-Pence by 21,000 votes this year.

#4 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2020-11-13 03:21 PM | Reply

Donnie Fail, you lost. Now get lost.

#5 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2020-11-13 05:25 PM | Reply

So donald would lose 290 to 248 instead?

#6 | Posted by REDIAL at 2020-11-13 07:45 PM | Reply

Naw, this is all butthurt smoke.

#7 | Posted by a_monson at 2020-11-13 07:57 PM | Reply

They didn't file a single frivolous lawsuit in Republican counties.

Nor did they file a single frivolous lawsuit in Democratic counties, at least none that I've seen.

#8 | Posted by et_al at 2020-11-13 08:26 PM | Reply | Funny: 1

This is serious! I've read in too many articles that this is what he's up to, and stealing the election thru the electoral voter delegates is a real possibility. One article stated that the only remedy is massive protests by us citizens. I'm 69 years old and ready as hell to do what need to be done to stop this lunatic.

#9 | Posted by Yodagirl at 2020-11-13 09:02 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Move along, nothing to see here. Just the opposition party, acting like the opposition.

Signed,
JeffJ

#10 | Posted by snoofy at 2020-11-13 09:09 PM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Trump lost. This is just left wing whining about the legal process playing out. He's gone on inauguration day, count on it.

#11 | Posted by willowby at 2020-11-13 10:33 PM | Reply

Nor did they file a single frivolous lawsuit in Democratic counties, at least none that I've seen.

#8 | Posted by et_al

They have. Wayne County, MI (Detroit), for example. Milwaukee and Dane counties in Wisconsin. Not any Republican majority counties.

Detroit: www.wxyz.com

Milwaukee: www.jsonline.com

And there are other lawsuits targeted only at the largest Democratic strongholds in battleground states.

#12 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2020-11-14 01:00 AM | Reply

"One article stated that the only remedy is massive protests by us citizens. I'm 69 years old and ready as hell to do what need to be done to stop this lunatic."

You're going to protest a legal process that played out as it is supposed to?

Maybe an alternative to throwing fireworks at cops or smashing ATM machines would be trying to change the system.

#13 | Posted by madbomber at 2020-11-14 03:03 AM | Reply

Just make it very clear that unfaithful electors that vote against the POTUS candidate that won the most US and State votes are traitors, and remind them what happens to traitors.

#14 | Posted by bored at 2020-11-14 03:21 AM | Reply

Here's the skinny on Michigan's electors from the Michigan Secretary of State:

Electors pledge to support the candidate they represent and may not vote otherwise. Michigan voters can be assured that all 16 Michigan electoral votes automatically go to the presidential candidate winning the popular vote.

www.michigan.gov

Michigan has a 'faithless elector' law:

As of 2020, 33 states plus the District of Columbia have laws against faithless electors, though the laws in half of these jurisdictions have no enforcement mechanism. ... In lieu of penalizing a faithless elector, some states such as Colorado, Michigan, and Minnesota specify a faithless elector's vote be voided.

en.wikipedia.org

The SC stepped into this issue, ruling last July that electors must abide by state law:

www.brookings.edu

#15 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2020-11-14 04:03 AM | Reply

Laws untested are not yet laws.

2/3, 9/10ths,

Don't count your chickens before the third trimester.

#16 | Posted by snoofy at 2020-11-14 04:27 AM | Reply

They have.
#12 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY

Filed frivolous lawsuits? None that I'm aware of. Losers, yes. Frivolous, no.

You should look into that term of art before becoming so cocksure.

#17 | Posted by et_al at 2020-11-14 05:31 AM | Reply

Michigan GOP May Give Trump State's 16 Electoral Votes

Don't dismiss the possibility that the republican controlled Michigan legislature could give its electors to Trump. After all, they are the ones that usurped local control in Flint Michigan, installed its own person to run the city which led to the Flint water crisis.

Don't count those dumba$$es out.

#18 | Posted by FedUpWithPols at 2020-11-14 06:50 AM | Reply

"Just make it very clear that unfaithful electors that vote against the POTUS candidate that won the most US and State votes are traitors, and remind them what happens to traitors."

Reading the article, they made it sound as if that possible outcome would be legal under the law. You may not like the law, but it doesn't sound like they would be doing anything illegal. Furthermore, they would ultimately have to answer to the voters in Michigan.

#19 | Posted by madbomber at 2020-11-14 07:32 AM | Reply

#19 "but it's not illegal" is almost always a sign of a crap argument.

#20 | Posted by jpw at 2020-11-14 11:55 AM | Reply | Newsworthy 1

Furthermore, they would ultimately have to answer to the voters in Michigan.

#19 | POSTED BY MADBOMBER A

Those voters have already told them what they wanted.

#21 | Posted by Zed at 2020-11-14 12:20 PM | Reply

"but it's not illegal" is almost always a sign of a crap argument.

One thing donald has demonstrated is that if you have no morals, scruples, or respect for anything or anyone, you can do pretty much anything you want.

#22 | Posted by REDIAL at 2020-11-14 12:38 PM | Reply

#22 That's why they love him.

Trump is their Ayn Rand Superman.

Only a man freed from the moral underpinnings of Westen Civilization has the moral clarity to lead Western Civilization.

#23 | Posted by snoofy at 2020-11-14 01:31 PM | Reply

"You may not like the law, but it doesn't sound like they would be doing anything illegal."

Yeah, neither did the Nazis.

#24 | Posted by dibblda at 2020-11-14 01:43 PM | Reply

"You may not like the law, but it doesn't sound like they would be doing anything illegal."

^
Only people who like the law say this.

#25 | Posted by snoofy at 2020-11-14 04:59 PM | Reply

You should look into that term of art before becoming so cocksure.

#17 | Posted by et_al

You said they hadn't targeted specific Dem areas. You were wrong. I know you hate to be wrong, but you were.

I even posted links to what and where they've filed frivolous lawsuits (which judges have thrown out).

In English.

#26 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2020-11-14 05:43 PM | Reply

#17
A claim is frivolous when the claim lacks any arguable basis either in law or in fact Neitze v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989). That means, in a frivolous claim, either: "(1) "the 'factual contentions are clearly baseless,' such as when allegations are the product of delusion or fantasy;" or (2) "the claim is 'based on an indisputably meritless legal theory.'" Livingston v. Adirondack Beverage Co., 141 F.3d 434, 437 (2d Cir. 1998).
www.law.cornell.edu

#27 | Posted by snoofy at 2020-11-14 05:49 PM | Reply

You said they hadn't targeted specific Dem areas.

You really have a reading comprehension problem. That is not what I said, not even close. I have repeatedly rejected your, or anyone else, erroneous conclusion that any of the suits filed by the Buffoon in any jurisdiction, red or blue, is frivolous. None of the suits I've read are frivolous. None of the responses or opposition briefs I've read have alleged or even intimated the suits are frivolous. None of the orders or rulings I've read have said or intimated the suits are frivolous. None of the analysis I've read about the suits by election law warriors has said or intimated the suits are frivolous.

The Buffoons lawsuits are losers because he can't prove what he claims. That does not make the lawsuits frivolous. It makes them losers. Not frivolous. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 11(b) and the comments that follow. www.law.cornell.edu Michigan's state analog, rule 1.109(E)(5), is substantially similar. courts.michigan.gov

#28 | Posted by et_al at 2020-11-14 10:08 PM | Reply

Now we see where Jeff gets his attitude from.

#29 | Posted by LauraMohr at 2020-11-14 11:19 PM | Reply

STFU, Laura.

XOXOXO, JeffJ.

(Sorry Jeff I couldn't resist.)

#30 | Posted by et_al at 2020-11-15 02:56 AM | Reply

ET AL

Article after article with attorneys general, law professors, and other legal folks calling Trump campaign's lawsuits "frivolous."

Quit being such a hard headed know-it-all -----. I'll take the word of better legal minds than yours appears to be.

Example:

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nussel told reporters on Wednesday that her office had "debunked every claim" of election fraud that has come into her office. She said the suits brought by the president's campaign and his allies are "ridiculous" and "frivolous." "If I ever walked into court with claims this baseless and this frivolous, I would be sanctioned and I would be looking at a loss of licensure," she said.

www.rollingstone.com

OR:

Penn professors say the Trump campaign's Pa. election lawsuits are 'frivolous'

www.thedp.com

#31 | Posted by AMERICANUNITY at 2020-11-15 03:25 AM | Reply

Read the rule and the documents not the spin.

#32 | Posted by et_al at 2020-11-15 04:12 AM | Reply

"#19 "but it's not illegal" is almost always a sign of a crap argument."

100%. If they did this it would be in violation of the spirit of the election.

But it illustrates a problem with the law.

#33 | Posted by madbomber at 2020-11-15 06:02 AM | Reply

The founders feared and hated the poor. They owned human beings for profit. The whole idea of "electors" is to keep the common people removed as much as possible from any real political power. It's a failsafe in case the rabble elected the "wrong" person. In this case it's working exactly the Opposite of their foolish and paternalistic intentions.

We need a new constitution,this "holy relic" that we live by needs to be retired. It is designed for oligarchy and slavery,not the modern era.

#34 | Posted by Effeteposer at 2020-11-15 09:28 AM | Reply

Nor did they file a single frivolous lawsuit in Democratic counties, at least none that I've seen.

#8 | Posted by et_al

It wasn't "single frivolous lawsuits".

It was multiple frivolous lawsuits.

So technically you are right counselor.

#35 | Posted by donnerboy at 2020-11-15 10:36 AM | Reply

Can't do it... Illegal...

#36 | Posted by earthmuse at 2020-11-15 11:58 AM | Reply