Michigan State Board of Canvassers Certified Statewide Election Despite Explicit Notice That Wayne County Certification Was Legally Defective (MI)

On November 23, 2020, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers certified the 2020 general election via a 3-0 vote, with Republican member Norman Shinkle abstaining. The certification proceeded despite Shinkle having been explicitly notified – and having raised on the record – that the underlying Wayne County certification was legally invalid, lacking the statutorily required minimum of three canvasser signatures to be effective under MCL §168.24e. This was not an abstract procedural defect: Wayne County contains the City of Detroit, whose Absentee Voter Counting Board precincts were 71% out of balance at the time of certification – more out-of-balance precincts than all other 82 Michigan counties combined. The official vote totals for Wayne County included 174,384 votes attributed to zero registered voters – an anomaly the Secretary of State attributed to “formatting conventions” but which Canvasser Palmer found inadequately documented under any statutory standard. The State Board certified Wayne County’s returns without conducting any independent inquiry into the imbalances, without demanding a Republican signature, and without investigating the delivery of revised vote documentation one day prior to certification. State Board members Aaron Van Langevelde, Jeannette Bradshaw, and Julie Matuzak voted yes to certify with knowledge of these deficiencies on the record.