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Top line
President Donald Trump falsely claims that the city of Detroit reported more votes than people, a new conspiracy theory among the many he put forward when he refused to accept defeat in the presidential election, but the incidents Trump cites to proving electoral fraud in Michigan’s largest city are actually tiny mistakes made by hounded election workers.
US President Donald Trump arrives with US Vice President Mike Pence for a Make America Great Again … [+]
AFP via Getty Images
Important facts
In a series of tweets on Tuesday and Wednesday, Trump accused Detroit – a black-majority city and longtime Democratic stronghold – of counting more votes than residents for no reason, called the result a “huge scam” and falsely declared that he won in Michigan .
Really Detroit reported 250,138 votes in the November 3rd election, according to unofficial results released by the city, representing less than half of Detroit’s registered voters and just 37% of the city Total population from 2019.
Trump card seems to be refers to “unbalanced” districts where the number of votes counted differs slightly from the number of voters checked in at a polling station – but those are discrepancies no evidence of fraud, and instead are usually routine Mistakes like poll workers falsely scanning voters’ names, failing to record falsified ballot papers, or failing to notice when a voter leaves the district without casting a vote, city officials say.
Detroit has reported just 357 mismatched votes in all of the imbalanced counties, Mayor Mike Duggan said, representing less than 0.2% of the citywide votes.
About 28% of Detroit’s more than 600 counties and counties are out of whack with no explanation, the Michigan Secretary of State said Forbes, but the Detroit Free Press Most of these counties were reportedly wrong by less than four votes.
Trump’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
tangent
These unbalanced counties briefly led to the four-member Wayne County’s Board of Canvassers dead end when confirming the results of the district on Tuesday evening. The board’s two Republicans voted no to certification because of the discrepancies, a move Trump welcomed even though imbalanced counties in the past haven’t stopped Wayne County from certifying its results, but they quickly reverse course and after hours of public outcry, voted yes.
Crucial quote
“The idea that the imbalanced counties reflect every problem in the vote is utter nonsense,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in one Speech Wednesday. “It is not indicative of any type of fraud in the voting process.”
Key background
Refusing to admit President-elect Joe Biden, Trump and his allies have mistakenly labeled Detroit and other highly democratic cities as the hubs of electoral fraud, part of some sort of shadowy statewide electoral fraud cabal that have come together for the sole purpose of undermining Trump card. In reality there are no credible allegations of widespread electoral fraud in every condition. The campaign and several conservative groups have filed charges of alleged electoral fraud in Michigan and almost every other swing state, but judges have dismissed many of these legal challenges due to a lack of evidence. On Friday, a state court A Wayne County judge dismissed an election fraud complaint against election observers in Detroit because none of its evidence stood up.
Big number
146,007 votes. This is Biden’s current lead over Trump in Michigan, according to the Associated Press. In 2016, Trump defeated Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton in Michigan with 11,612 votes.
further reading
GOP Members Reverse Course, Vote to Certify Wayne County’s Election Results (Detroit Free Press)
