Saying that his request was unlikely to succeed on merits, the Michigan Court of Claims today has denied President Donald Trumps request to stop counting ballots in Michigan.
The Court of Claims ruled today that a lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson was unlikely to succeed on the merits and denied a request by plaintiffs for immediate relief to stop the counting of ballots.
Responding to that word today, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s Press Secretary Ryan Jarvi released the following statement:
“We are pleased with Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens’ swift action in today’s hearing on Trump v Benson to deny the relief requested by plaintiffs. She identified the same defects in the campaign’s filings as we did, namely a complete lack of any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of election officials, and meritless legal arguments. Michigan’s elections have been fair, transparent and reflect the will of the voters, and we will continue to defend against any challenges that claim otherwise.”
Meanwhile, the Michigan Democratic Party joined that response by releasing their own statement from Chair Lavora Barnes on the Court of Claims denial of injunctive relief for the Trump campaign in the absentee ballot challenge, saying:
“We are pleased to see that the Michigan Court of Claims has denied the Trump campaign’s challenge to the AV ballot counting process. This was simply a political stunt meant to distract from the legitimate outcome of the election. Michiganders sent a clear message to this president and no lawsuit or tweet can change the results.
We are thankful for all of the election workers, the local clerks, and the Secretary of State for conducting a free and fair election in Michigan. In the era of COVID-19, this was not an easy task. Their commitment to ensuring that every voter could safely cast their ballot and be guaranteed it would be counted is to be commended.”
As always, stay tuned.
