Get real time updates directly on you device, subscribe now.
After Georgia, it is the turn of Michigan, another state disputed by Donald Trump, who still refuses to concede defeat, to certify its results in the US presidential election. And it is Joe Biden who wins this key state and its 16 voters. A commission validated Monday, November 23, during a public meeting, the results count. Of the 5.5 million votes cast, Joe Biden has a lead in Michigan of over 155,000 votes.
One of the four members of this commission, a Republican, abstained, echoing the accusations of irregularities made, without evidence, by the outgoing president who had won this state by a hair in 2016. It is ” unacceptable “that there remain” so many unresolved issues, “said Norman Shinkle, in a meeting broadcast live online and followed by tens of thousands of people.
Looking forward to Pennsylvania
Certification of election results is usually a poorly followed routine exercise. But President Trump and his allies had put pressure on Michigan Republicans in recent days in hopes of delaying the process. Two local congressional elected officials were even invited to the White House on Friday.
The second Republican sitting on Michigan’s certification committee, Aaron Van Langevelde, however, said Monday that there were many “misinterpretations on the role” of this body. “We are not a court, we cannot conduct a trial,” he stressed, considering that it was his “duty” to certify the results.
“Democracy prevailed,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson responded on Twitter. The commission’s vote “confirms a truth: the election was fair and secure and its result reflects the will of the voters,” added the Democrat. Another key state, Pennsylvania, where Joe Biden enjoys a lead of more than 80,000 votes, is also due to certify his results on Monday.