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State to audit ‘significant mismatches’ in Detroit vote

Posted at 8:58 AM, Dec 13, 2016
and last updated 2016-12-13 08:58:27-05

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s elections bureau will investigate “significant” ballot discrepancies in a small portion of Detroit’s voting precincts.

The audit ordered Monday stems from a precinct in which 300 people were recorded as voting but only 50 ballots were in a sealed container. State spokesman Fred Woodhams says there’s no reason to suspect people’s votes weren’t counted, but Michigan is aware of “significant mismatches” at roughly 20 of Detroit’s 490 precincts.

He says the problems wouldn’t have changed the outcome of Republican Donald Trump’s victory in Michigan. Democrat Hillary Clinton won 95 percent of Detroit’s vote.

The ballots will go to Lansing for inspection.

It’s not uncommon for there to be slight inconsistencies between the number of voters and ballots, but Woodhams says such large inconsistencies are “especially concerning.”