Donald Trump is a liar. He’s spent the time after Election Day lying to the American people about what went on during the election, claiming that widespread fraud plagued the process, despite the total lack of meaningfully conclusive evidence to back him up. On Wednesday, he claimed that “FAR MORE VOTES THAN PEOPLE” were recorded in Detroit, but by all indications, this claim is false. Nevertheless, in the same post, he laughably added: “I win Michigan!” The level of self-absorbed arrogance here is just stunning. He can’t speak an election win into existence, no matter how feverishly that he complains!
Trump tweeted the following Wednesday message about Michigan:
‘In Detroit, there are FAR MORE VOTES THAN PEOPLE. Nothing can be done to cure that giant scam. I win Michigan!’
In Detroit, there are FAR MORE VOTES THAN PEOPLE. Nothing can be done to cure that giant scam. I win Michigan!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2020
Trump is misrepresenting reality on a quite basic level — again. His complaints about Michigan emerged shortly after a controversy over the certification of election results in Wayne County, Michigan, which includes the city of Detroit, which went overwhelmingly for Biden in the recent presidential election. For a time, two Republican members of the Board of County Canvassers in Wayne County refused to certify their results, pointing to irregularities in election records as a reason for their hesitation.
The irregularities emerged in absentee ballot poll books at Detroit absentee counting boards. These poll books reflected a number of voters that was occasionally different than the corresponding number of ballots recorded for that same jurisdiction. Here’s the kicker: according to The Detroit News, “mismatches varied anywhere from one to more than four votes” — and that’s it. There are 134 absentee counting boards in Detroit, and if every one of these boards recorded five extra votes (which isn’t what took place, but is a convenient reference), then merely 630 ballots could be at issue. As of Wednesday, Biden’s lead in Michigan stood at ~145,000 votes.
Critically, these kinds of clerical discrepancies don’t provide conclusive evidence of any kind of fraud at all. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) noted that the issues are “not an indication that any votes were improperly cast or tabulated.” Issues in county and state election records simply do not automatically indicate improperly cast ballots. For example, some Republicans have spotlighted records that have seemed to indicate that ballots were cast in the names of deceased voters, but easy clerical explanations underpinned the records issues. In one Michigan case, a ballot had been accidentally attributed to a man’s late father who had the same name. These potentially awry records do not confirm improperly cast ballots. Records are distinct from the actual ballots.
View more from Trump below:
“The numbers have not improved, it is still 71% out of balance”, stated Wayne County, Michigan, Canvassers. “There is widespread irregularities in poll numbers.” There are “more votes than people”. The two harassed patriot Canvassers refuse to sign the papers!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2020
The Great State of Michigan, with votes being far greater than the number of people who voted, cannot certify the election. The Democrats cheated big time, and got caught. A Republican WIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2020
Check out Twitter’s response below:
