WASHINGTON — President Trump’s campaign is filing a lawsuit in the state of Michigan to halt vote counting, as votes are still being tallied statewide.
Trump 2020 Campaign Manger Bill Stepien announced the lawsuit Wednesday, claiming they were denied access to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process.
The campaign filed suit in the state Court of Claims to halt vote counting until they are given "meaningful access," they are also demanding to review opened and counted ballots.
Here’s the campaign’s full statement:
"As votes in Michigan continue to be counted, the presidential race in the state remains extremely tight as we always knew it would be. President Trump’s campaign has not been provided with meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe the opening of ballots as the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law. We have filed suit today in Michigan Court of Claims to halt counting until meaningful access has been granted. We also demand to review those ballots which were opened and counted while we did not have meaningful access. President Trump is committed to ensuring that all legal votes are counted in Michigan and everywhere else.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson for the state's Attorney General's office says the office has not yet been served with a lawsuit.
We have not been served. https://t.co/SMED9oQ3bl
— Kelly Rossman-McKinney (@rossmanmckinney) November 4, 2020
Ryan Jarvi, the state attorney general's press secretary, issued the following statement Wednesday afternoon:
"Michigan's elections have been conducted transparently, with access provided for both political parties and the public, and using a robust system of checks and balances to ensure that all ballots are counted fairly and accurately. At this time our department has not been notified by the Court of Claims about this lawsuit and when we are served, we will review it and respond accordingly. Michigan will always continue to protect the rights of all voters to have their ballots counted."
