The vote withdrawals by the two election board members followed a tumultuous meeting by the county election board a day earlier. The meeting resulted in a 2-2 deadlocked vote, in which both Palmer and Hartmann voted against certifying the Nov. 3 election results in the county. However, the GOP electors agreed to certify the elections after Jonathan Kinloch, the Democrat vice-chairman, promised to audit the poll results thoroughly.
Following allegations of racism and threats against their safety, Palmer and Hartmann stated that they felt “misled” and “unduly pressured” to change the positions during the Nov. 17 meeting. “The comments made accusations of racism and threatened me and members of my family,” the county election board chairwoman said in her affidavit.
Furthermore, they learned Nov. 18 that state officials reneged or would not honor the audit, prompting them to withdraw their initial vote of certification until further scrutiny could be performed. Meanwhile, Kinloch confirmed to ABC News that he assured both GOP members of an audit – but added that he was unable to reach Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on the night of Nov. 17 for her commitment.
The affidavits signed by Palmer and Hartmann stated their belief that the votes should be not certified until serious irregularities in the recent elections are resolved. “I voted not to certify, and I still believe this vote should not be certified. Until these questions [of vote fraud] are addressed, I remain opposed to certification of the Wayne County results,” Hartmann said in his affidavit. Palmer seconded her fellow Republican’s retraction in her affidavit: “I rescind my prior vote to certify Wayne County elections.”
Both GOP members said their concerns include discrepancies found in nearly three-fourths of Detroit’s precinct poll books: Ballots sent out are supposed to be matched to qualified voters in these books.
Palmer outlined in her affidavit: “The Wayne County election had serious process flaws which deserve investigation. I continue to ask for information to assure Wayne County voters that these elections were conducted fairly and accurately. Despite repeated requests, I have not received the requisite information and believe an additional 10 days of canvass by the State Board of canvassers will help provide the information necessary.”
Despite the retractions by the GOP electors, Kinloch insisted that the vote to certify “is final.” Speaking to ABC News Nov. 19, he remarked: “It is a wasted attempt to unravel a lawful vote in order to calm the Republican rancor. Upon certifying the election, we took a subsequent vote to waive reconsideration of the certification vote. It is final, this goose is cooked.”
Phill Kline, director of the conservative Thomas More Society’s Amistad Project, hailed the actions by the GOP board members. The Amistad Project has been contesting election irregularities in several key swing states such as Michigan.
Kline told Just the News: “I’m pleased Hartmann and Palmer reiterated their opposition to the certification of the Wayne County results – despite bullying and threats and in the face of broken promises by Michigan’s Secretary of State [Benson].” He added: “Hartmann is properly demanding answers from Wayne County election officials.”
Election officials in Michigan, a key swing state, indeed have a lot to explain. Numerous instances of vote fraud were documented in the state – such as votes mysteriously being transferred from Donald Trump to Joe Biden, corrupt election workers destroying ballots with votes cast for Trump, “suspicious vehicles” dropping off mail-in ballots in the dead of night, poll workers creating fake names so people can vote twice, ballots with votes for Biden being manually forged, and fake votes being cast for Biden by people already dead.
Despite the vote fraud, the Trump campaign has pulled out all the stops and filed a lawsuit to challenge the state’s fraudulent results – a move it has similarly done in other states.
Read more about the widespread ballot fraud in key battleground states like Michigan at VoteFraud.news.
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