Following a marathon meeting on certifying the statewide results of the November 3 election, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers voted to certify the results in a 3-0 vote with one abstention. Republican board member Norman Shinkle abstained.
The results show President-elect Joe Biden won by more than 154,000 votes, winning Michigan's 16 electoral votes, and that Democratic Senator Gary Peters won re-election.
Two Democrats were joined by Republican Aaron Van Langevelde to cast a 3-0 “yes” vote on certifying. Van Lange Velde said the results are clear, and the board’s job is to acknowledge that reality.
“We have a clear legal duty to certify the results of the election as shown by the returns that were given to us. We cannot and should not go beyond that,” he said.
Van Langenvelde is an attorney for the state House Republicans and advisor to House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Levering).
A motion to certify the results was tabled for a public comment period that went for over two hours. Public comment resumed following the vote.
Earlier, the chairs of the state and national Republican parties requested a delay in certification.
Following the vote, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson released a statement, saying:
A record breaking 5.5 million Michigan citizens cast ballots in this election, more than ever before in our state’s history. Their will is clear and unequivocal. Now we turn to the important work of implementing a statewide risk limiting audit and local procedural audits to affirm the integrity of the process and identify opportunities for improvement. And we will continue working with lawmakers at the state and federal level to strengthen our elections even further in the months ahead.
This post was last updated at 6:56 p.m. on November 23.
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