Statutory Loophole Exploited to Shield 71% of Detroit’s AVCB Precincts from Hand Recount (MI)

[Reasonable Inference – Characterization of the loophole as “exploited” rather than incidental requires further evidence of intent] Michigan law, MCL §168.871, provides that when a precinct is “out of balance” – meaning the number of voters credited in the poll book does not match the number of ballots counted – that precinct is legally ineligible for a statutory hand recount. In Detroit, 71% of Absentee Voter Counting Board (AVCB) precincts were out of balance at the time of the recount. The statutory consequence: the vast majority of Detroit’s absentee votes were disqualified from rigorous hand-recount verification by operation of law. This disqualification served as an effective shield – the most suspect precincts, those with documented imbalances between voters and ballots, were precisely the precincts excluded from the only independent quantitative verification mechanism available. The imbalance rate – 71% of Detroit’s AVCB precincts, more than all other 82 Michigan counties combined – is an established fact drawn from the official canvassing record. The use of this statutory loophole to insulate Detroit’s absentee votes from hand recount verification, whether deliberate or incidental, meant that the “recount” of Wayne County’s most problematic votes was never conducted.