Michigan Republicans eviscerate Trump voter fraud claims in scathing report

[EvilEyeFleegle]

Well...I guess this is the 'big' news that Trump faithful had been looking for?

Michigan Republicans eviscerate Trump voter fraud claims in scathing report

The Republican-led Michigan Senate Oversight Committee rebutted voter fraud claims made by Donald Trump, debunking claims of malfeasance in the state's election last fall and affirming that Joe Biden was victorious, in a highly-anticipated report released Wednesday.
The report is the product of an eight-month inquiry and concludes there was no basis or evidence to support the Trump's repeated claims that the election results failed to reflect the will of the voters.
"As is often the case, the truth is not as attractive or as immediately desirable as the lies and the lies contain elements of truth," state Sen. Ed McBroom, the Republican chairman of the committee that investigated the election, said in a statement that accompanied the report. "We must all remember: 'extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof' and 'claiming to find something extraordinary requires first eliminating the ordinary.'"
The report, which was supported by every Republican on the committee, was clear: "This Committee found no evidence of widespread or systematic fraud in Michigan’s prosecution of the 2020 election."

McBroom said he feels confident the state's results were accurate following his review. He continues to offer support for Republican-led voting law changes. McBroom said many of the claims of malfeasance were the result of "a misunderstanding or an outright deception."

Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes, a 3 percentage point victory over Trump.

 

[theHawk]

Did they do an audit? If not how could they possibly make any such claims?

 

[excalibur]

Did they do an audit? If not how could they possibly make any such claims?

RINOs.

 

[Chillicothe]

I read your opening post, EvilEye.

Was curious, so I opened up the Detroit Free Press news site on today's news.

I found it remarkable that this Republican led committee recommended to the Secretary of State the need to investigate the possibility of criminal legal action against those spreading false information about Atrim County.

That caught my eye, as we had posters on this very chatroom promulgating those false stories about little Atrim county. I'm sure someone could do a quick 'search' here......and cut&paste some of the nutjobbery from posts here.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Free Press reported this:

"The 55-page report debunks a number of unsubstantiated claims of election fraud and irregularities, including claims that dead people voted, that hundreds of thousands of unsolicited absentee ballots were sent to Michigan voters, that a machine error switched votes in Antrim County and that tabulators at the TCF Center in Detroit, where absentee ballots were counted, were connected to the internet, allowing outside parties to tamper with the results.

And the report calls on the attorney general's office to consider launching an investigation into those "utilizing misleading and false information about Antrim County to raise money or publicity for their own ends." The attorney general's office will review the report and determine whether a criminal investigation is appropriate, the office's spokesperson, Lynsey Mukomel, told the Free Press."

 

[theHawk]

I read your opening post, EvilEye.

Was curious, so I opened up the Detroit Free Press news site on today's news.

I found it remarkable that this Republican led committee recommended to the Secretary of State the need to investigate the possibility of criminal legal action against those spreading false information about Atrim County.

That caught my eye, as we had posters on this very chatroom promulgating those false stories about little Atrim county. I'm sure someone could do a quick 'search' here......and cut&paste some of the nutjobbery from posts here.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Free Press reported this:

"The 55-page report debunks a number of unsubstantiated claims of election fraud and irregularities, including claims that dead people voted, that hundreds of thousands of unsolicited absentee ballots were sent to Michigan voters, that a machine error switched votes in Antrim County and that tabulators at the TCF Center in Detroit, where absentee ballots were counted, were connected to the internet, allowing outside parties to tamper with the results.

And the report calls on the attorney general's office to consider launching an investigation into those "utilizing misleading and false information about Antrim County to raise money or publicity for their own ends." The attorney general's office will review the report and determine whether a criminal investigation is appropriate, the office's spokesperson, Lynsey Mukomel, told the Free Press."

Total croc of shit, Antrim County was peanuts compared to the shit that went down in the big cities.

 

[Turtlesoup]

Well...I guess this is the 'big' news that Trump faithful had been looking for?

Michigan Republicans eviscerate Trump voter fraud claims in scathing report

The Republican-led Michigan Senate Oversight Committee rebutted voter fraud claims made by Donald Trump, debunking claims of malfeasance in the state's election last fall and affirming that Joe Biden was victorious, in a highly-anticipated report released Wednesday.
The report is the product of an eight-month inquiry and concludes there was no basis or evidence to support the Trump's repeated claims that the election results failed to reflect the will of the voters.
"As is often the case, the truth is not as attractive or as immediately desirable as the lies and the lies contain elements of truth," state Sen. Ed McBroom, the Republican chairman of the committee that investigated the election, said in a statement that accompanied the report. "We must all remember: 'extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof' and 'claiming to find something extraordinary requires first eliminating the ordinary.'"
The report, which was supported by every Republican on the committee, was clear: "This Committee found no evidence of widespread or systematic fraud in Michigan’s prosecution of the 2020 election."

McBroom said he feels confident the state's results were accurate following his review. He continues to offer support for Republican-led voting law changes. McBroom said many of the claims of malfeasance were the result of "a misunderstanding or an outright deception."

Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes, a 3 percentage point victory over Trump.

Politician talk with lots of qualifiers..........lots of extra words to blow smoke. The question is not if there was widespread or systemtic fraud, but if there was enough fraud to have changed the election results. We know that the dems targeted certain counties (dems having lost more counties in 2020 than in 2016 had to make up votes) and we can easily see the spikes of votes from these inner city counties in the wee hours of the morning.

Didn't michigan have thousands of votes for Trump flipped to Biden in one county alone? What was done to investigate fraudulent votes in the counties that biden supposedly won nullifying all other counties.

 

[toobfreak]

Michigan Republicans eviscerate Trump voter fraud claims in scathing report​

Where in the article did they eviscerate Trump's claims? All the article says is that the Oversight Committee found no evidence, but the oversight committee didn't personally review all of this, they hired others to do that work and report to them and the article says nothing about WHO, HOW they did it, and whether there was oversight! I fail to see how saying it was a GOP-lead committee proves anything. So are we saying that all politicians are simply 100% partisan?

Why is there always GOP members ratting on their own party or taking sides against it yet hardly ever a democrat?

I want INDEPENDENT investigations, not a bunch of politicians making political decisions.

 

[candycorn]

Michigan Republicans eviscerate Trump voter fraud claims in scathing report​

Where in the article did they eviscerate Trump's claims?

"There were two claims of deceased individuals casting votes that were found to be true; one was a clerical error while the other was a timing issue," the report said. "The Committee concluded that none of these constituted fraudulent election activities or manipulations."

2 claims found to be true.

 

[Dragonlady]

Michigan Republicans eviscerate Trump voter fraud claims in scathing report​

Where in the article did they eviscerate Trump's claims? All the article says is that the Oversight Committee found no evidence, but the oversight committee didn't personally review all of this, they hired others to do that work and report to them and the article says nothing about WHO, HOW they did it, and whether there was oversight! I fail to see how saying it was a GOP-lead committee proves anything. So are we saying that all politicians are simply 100% partisan?

Why is there always GOP members ratting on their own party or taking sides against it yet hardly ever a democrat?

I want INDEPENDENT investigations, not a bunch of politicians making political decisions.

You claim there’s no such thing as an independent investigation unless they agree with whatever conspiracy theory you’re floating.

Republicans lie to the people because their policies don’t work. They can’t run on their record so they lie about Democrats and their policies. Lies are all they have.

If Republicans didn’t lie cheat and steal no one would be ”ratting” on them. Democrats don’t “rat out” members of their own party because they generally don’t lie, cheat or steal so there’s not much to tell.

 

[JLW]

As can be seen from this thread Trump cultists will never give up the voter fraud lie no matter the evidence.

 

[Chillicothe]

"Total croc of shit,"

I'm gonna presume that with poster 'Hawk" pulling a quote from my post that he is asserting that the Detroit Free Press article is a lie? (a crock of _______)

So, if Hawk thinks it is a lie, tell us why?
What sourcing does he have that offers a credible alternative to what was declared by this Republican led committee in a Republican led legislature.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Didn't michigan have thousands of votes for Trump flipped to Biden in one county alone?

Ummm, yeah, poster Turtle, there was that claim. Atrim County. And that claim will now appear to be under a criminal investigation. It was long believed that the claim was mendacious. A claim with ulterior motives. There was no 'flipping' in this tiny county in northern Michigan. Which, by the way, voted overwhelmingly for Don Trump.

And hell yes, the Secretary of State and the state's AG should start kicking the tires of these bad actors that disparaged Atrim, their pollworkers, the township clerk and the county clerk.......and the county's good citizens.
I'm all for accountability for the insincere and the mendacious who are damaging Americans' belief in our democratic process.
Go get 'em, sic 'em!

"I fail to see how saying it was a GOP-lead committee proves anything."

OK. Not a surprise.
But see, it is like this poster "freak"...... there is this concept of "against one's interest" that is seen in courtroom testimony......likely in other venues also, whereby the one making the statement makes a statement that is 'against their interest'. And thus, it is considered to have more credibility than statements that merely support's one's position. It is considered to have the potential to be more authentic, more truthful.

And thus it is here. The Michigan Legislature, both the House and the Senate, are Republican controlled. And even little Antrim County is a Republican dominated county.....witness something near 70% voted for Trump.
So, if this Republican led Committee (one Democrat on it).......concludes there was no fraud sufficient enough to change any election.....well, that is a pretty believable "croc" of credibility. IMHO

 

[JimH52]

Well...I guess this is the 'big' news that Trump faithful had been looking for?

Michigan Republicans eviscerate Trump voter fraud claims in scathing report

The Republican-led Michigan Senate Oversight Committee rebutted voter fraud claims made by Donald Trump, debunking claims of malfeasance in the state's election last fall and affirming that Joe Biden was victorious, in a highly-anticipated report released Wednesday.
The report is the product of an eight-month inquiry and concludes there was no basis or evidence to support the Trump's repeated claims that the election results failed to reflect the will of the voters.
"As is often the case, the truth is not as attractive or as immediately desirable as the lies and the lies contain elements of truth," state Sen. Ed McBroom, the Republican chairman of the committee that investigated the election, said in a statement that accompanied the report. "We must all remember: 'extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof' and 'claiming to find something extraordinary requires first eliminating the ordinary.'"
The report, which was supported by every Republican on the committee, was clear: "This Committee found no evidence of widespread or systematic fraud in Michigan’s prosecution of the 2020 election."

McBroom said he feels confident the state's results were accurate following his review. He continues to offer support for Republican-led voting law changes. McBroom said many of the claims of malfeasance were the result of "a misunderstanding or an outright deception."

Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes, a 3 percentage point victory over Trump.

But don't look for sanity to return to the repub party. The Former Guy is preparing to take his Big Lie on a country wide rally. He is really hoping for a second round of January 6th.

trump and his MAGA cult want to destroy this country. Putin Smiles.....

 

[Chillicothe]

Let's not move away too quickly from the Mitten state ----Michigan.

There are lessons there.

I am posting the whole enchildada of an analysis put out late this morning from the Washington Post.
It is good stuff. They do a good job in describing what the Michigan Legislature's report says.
And what they report is important to so many discussions this venue has hosted for months.

Those Republican legislators on their Oversight Committee address directly the objections that some posters here have voiced about the vote in Michigan. A handful of our fellow posters here have read or listened to some treatment from Midway Pundit, or from Rudy Giuliani, Tucker Carlson, Hannity, Ingram, Alex Jones and such....and those media personalities have made statements that some here have echoed as part of our discussions.

(Look, I'm well aware this will have limited viewership on this venue because it is long. And some will reject it offhand because the Washington Post reports it. But, regardless of who reports it.....it came from the Michigan Legislature. Controlled by Republicans, so it is important that we heed it.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is what the Michigan Republican Legislature's investigative committee uncovered:

"The most brutal debunking of Trump’s fraud claims yet — from Republicans"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...ebunking-trumps-fraud-claims-yet-republicans/

June 24, 2021 at 11:38 a.m. EDT

"The Republican Party’s response to former president Donald Trump and his allies’ wild, baseless claims of voter fraud has been anything but courageous. It’s been entirely clear most reputable members of the GOP are uncomfortable responding, often instead lodging watered-down or adjacent claims. Some Republicans have spoken out but generally only when forced to pick a side — such as when their state became the focus of Trump’s lies. But when the rubber has met the road, GOP lawmakers have routinely landed on one side: against Trump’s claims.


Perhaps the starkest example of that came Wednesday, from a Republican-led state Senate committee in Michigan. A report from the Oversight Committee makes little mention of Trump, instead focusing on claims made by allies or general conspiracy theories about the vote count in Michigan. But the committee was brutal in statements on those claims, just about all of which can be traced to Trump in one way or another.

The sum total is a broad, unsparing repudiation of Trump’s fraud claims in Michigan.

Let’s recap some of the key findings on the voter-fraud theories pushed by the former president, Rudolph W. Giuliani and other Trump allies.

1. Antrim County ‘switched’ votes​

Among the many theories about what happened in Michigan, the idea that votes were switched from Trump to Joe Biden in Antrim County might have been the most pervasive. As recently as last month, Trump called the ongoing litigation over the issue “the major Michigan Election Fraud case.” He added: “The number of votes is MASSIVE and determinative. This will prove true in numerous other States.”

What the report says: The report devotes its starkest language to debunking this theory — and strongly rebukes the likes of Trump by extension.

“The strongest conclusion comes in regard to Antrim County,” the committee’s Republican chairman, state Sen. Ed McBroom, says in an opening letter. “All compelling theories that sprang forth from the rumors surrounding Antrim County are diminished so significantly as for it to be a complete waste of time to consider them further.”

The report goes on to suggest a group that has pushed the theory, the Allied Security Operations Group (ASOG), cherry-picked data to create a misleading picture. It even goes so far as to suggest the Michigan attorney general should investigate those “who have been utilizing misleading and false information about Antrim County to raise money or publicity for their own ends.”

The coup de grace: “The Committee finds those promoting Antrim County as the prime evidence of a nationwide conspiracy to steal the election place all other statements and actions they make in a position of zero credibility.”

Among those to whom this accusation of “zero credibility” would logically now apply: Trump. That last quote is a near-exact summary of Trump’s claim that what happened in Antrim County was emblematic of what occurred in “numerous other States.” Trump also made this point in his speech just before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, saying, “In one Michigan county alone, 6,000 votes were switched from Trump to Biden, and the same systems are used in the majority of states in our country.”

2. Not more votes than voters​

This is one of the few instances in which the report actually directly calls out the Trump team for promoting baseless theories.

The basic idea is that there were a bunch of counties in Michigan in which there were more votes than actual voters. “In Michigan and Wisconsin, we have over-votes in numerous precincts of 150 percent, 200 percent and 300 percent,” Giuliani said. Lawyer Sidney Powell added it was “up to 350 percent in some places.”

What the report says: This ridiculous theory was debunked almost immediately, including in this space, but it persevered. The report in a footnote calls out Giuliani directly.

“The ‘more votes than voters’ theory, repeated by President Trump’s attorney, Rudolph Giuliani, was based on an affidavit from the ASOG co-founder that cites several Michigan counties where there were allegedly more votes than registered voters,” the report says. “However, the affidavit cited several townships in Minnesota, not Michigan. Even if the document referenced the right state, the claims regarding the Minnesota townships still were not accurate, according to data from the Minnesota Secretary of State.”

3. Blank ballots and troops voting for Biden​

Trump and his team regularly cited the idea that there was something suspicious both about (a) blank ballots that were seen in Michigan — particularly in Detroit-based Wayne County — and (b) that election watchers saw military ballots that were somehow only for Biden.

“Four witnesses have testified under penalty of perjury that after officials in Detroit announced the last votes had been counted, tens of thousands of additional ballots arrived without required envelopes,” Trump said. “Every single one was for a Democrat.”

What the report says: It dispatches with this — and the witnesses cited by Trump — quickly:

The presence of blank ballots also provides significant confusion, despite being necessary for the duplication of military ballots and damaged absentee voter ballots. It is noteworthy that attempting to utilize these ballots for any significant level of fraud would require perfectly matching precincts to voters, manipulating poll books with fake dates for requests and receipts of the ballots, voter’s signatures, and the clerk’s signature and time stamp.

One witness testified that none of the military ballots at her table being duplicated were for President Trump. However, upon questioning, the witness recounted she only witnessed a few dozen ballots. This is a very reasonable outcome given the overall performance of the candidates in these precincts and the amount witnessed, which is not statistically significant.

4. No dead people voting​

“Over 13 ballots were cast by nonresidents, and an estimated 17,000 ballots were cast by dead people,” Trump said Jan. 4 while talking about Michigan. “Some dead people, by the way, also requested an application. It’s true. Those are the ones that really bother me.”

In a Jan. 2 call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), Trump added: “They had, as an example, in Michigan, a tremendous number of dead people that voted. I think it was … 18,000, or some unbelievably high number.”

What the report says: “Unbelievably high” is right, in that the report found essentially none.

“The Committee was also provided a list of over 200 individuals in Wayne County who were believed to be deceased yet had cast a ballot,” it says. “A thorough review of individuals on that list showed only two instances where an individual appeared to have voted but was deceased.”

But even those weren’t fraud.

It says one instance involved a man who shared a name with his deceased 118-year-old father, and that it was explained by a “clerical error.” The second was a 92-year-old woman who died four days before the election but had submitted her absentee ballot before her death.

What’s more, the report indicates an extremely solid effort to prevent the counting of the latter types of vote.

“Notably, research showed the secretary of state and clerks were able to discover and remove approximately 3,500 absentee ballots submitted by voters while they were alive but died before Election Day, which is a commendable accomplishment,” the report says.

5. Not something fishy in Wayne County​

Trump and his team regularly pointed to large urban areas in key states as supposed evidence of fraud. They cited huge, late-night dumps of ballot counts that they claimed were suspicious because they were overwhelmingly for Biden. (Never mind that both absentee and in-person votes in urban areas went quite understandably heavy for Biden.) They also suggested there was something inexplicable about how many people voted in Detroit and how strongly it went for Biden.

“In Detroit, turnout was 139 percent of registered voters,” Trump said Jan. 6. “Think of that: So you had 139 percent of the people in Detroit voting.”

Trump at another point echoed ridiculous claims made by allies that somehow Biden did better than Hillary Clinton in urban areas only in key states — but not other urban areas. “Biden did poorly in big cities … except those of Detroit (more votes than people!), Philadelphia, Atlanta and Milwaukee, which he had to win,” Trump tweeted. “Not surprisingly, they are all located in the most important swing states, and are long known for being politically corrupt!”

What the report says: Poppycock:

Comparing historical results casts serious doubt over any claims of widespread impropriety in the Michigan 2020 election. In fact, turnout in 2020 increased less in Wayne county (11.4%) than in the rest of the state (15.4%) and President Trump won a greater percentage of votes there than he did in 2016 (30.27% vs 29.3%).

Additionally, the data suggests that there was no anomalous number of votes cast solely for the President, either in Wayne County or statewide."

 

[Chillicothe]

The most brutal debunking of Trump’s fraud claims yet — from Republicans



https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...ebunking-trumps-fraud-claims-yet-republicans/



Senior reporter

June 24, 2021 at 11:38 a.m. EDT

215

The Republican Party’s response to former president Donald Trump and his allies’ wild, baseless claims of voter fraud has been anything but courageous. It’s been entirely clear most reputable members of the GOP are uncomfortable responding, often instead lodging watered-down or adjacent claims. Some Republicans have spoken out but generally only when forced to pick a side — such as when their state became the focus of Trump’s lies. But when the rubber has met the road, GOP lawmakers have routinely landed on one side: against Trump’s claims.


Perhaps the starkest example of that came Wednesday, from a Republican-led state Senate committee in Michigan. A report from the Oversight Committee makes little mention of Trump, instead focusing on claims made by allies or general conspiracy theories about the vote count in Michigan. But the committee was brutal in statements on those claims, just about all of which can be traced to Trump in one way or another.

The sum total is a broad, unsparing repudiation of Trump’s fraud claims in Michigan.

Let’s recap some of the key findings on the voter-fraud theories pushed by the former president, Rudolph W. Giuliani and other Trump allies.

1. Antrim County ‘switched’ votes​

Among the many theories about what happened in Michigan, the idea that votes were switched from Trump to Joe Biden in Antrim County might have been the most pervasive. As recently as last month, Trump called the ongoing litigation over the issue “the major Michigan Election Fraud case.” He added: “The number of votes is MASSIVE and determinative. This will prove true in numerous other States.”

What the report says: The report devotes its starkest language to debunking this theory — and strongly rebukes the likes of Trump by extension.

“The strongest conclusion comes in regard to Antrim County,” the committee’s Republican chairman, state Sen. Ed McBroom, says in an opening letter. “All compelling theories that sprang forth from the rumors surrounding Antrim County are diminished so significantly as for it to be a complete waste of time to consider them further.”

The report goes on to suggest a group that has pushed the theory, the Allied Security Operations Group (ASOG), cherry-picked data to create a misleading picture. It even goes so far as to suggest the Michigan attorney general should investigate those “who have been utilizing misleading and false information about Antrim County to raise money or publicity for their own ends.”

The coup de grace: “The Committee finds those promoting Antrim County as the prime evidence of a nationwide conspiracy to steal the election place all other statements and actions they make in a position of zero credibility.”

Among those to whom this accusation of “zero credibility” would logically now apply: Trump. That last quote is a near-exact summary of Trump’s claim that what happened in Antrim County was emblematic of what occurred in “numerous other States.” Trump also made this point in his speech just before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, saying, “In one Michigan county alone, 6,000 votes were switched from Trump to Biden, and the same systems are used in the majority of states in our country.”

2. Not more votes than voters​

This is one of the few instances in which the report actually directly calls out the Trump team for promoting baseless theories.

The basic idea is that there were a bunch of counties in Michigan in which there were more votes than actual voters. “In Michigan and Wisconsin, we have over-votes in numerous precincts of 150 percent, 200 percent and 300 percent,” Giuliani said. Lawyer Sidney Powell added it was “up to 350 percent in some places.”

What the report says: This ridiculous theory was debunked almost immediately, including in this space, but it persevered. The report in a footnote calls out Giuliani directly.

“The ‘more votes than voters’ theory, repeated by President Trump’s attorney, Rudolph Giuliani, was based on an affidavit from the ASOG co-founder that cites several Michigan counties where there were allegedly more votes than registered voters,” the report says. “However, the affidavit cited several townships in Minnesota, not Michigan. Even if the document referenced the right state, the claims regarding the Minnesota townships still were not accurate, according to data from the Minnesota Secretary of State.”

3. Blank ballots and troops voting for Biden​

Trump and his team regularly cited the idea that there was something suspicious both about (a) blank ballots that were seen in Michigan — particularly in Detroit-based Wayne County — and (b) that election watchers saw military ballots that were somehow only for Biden.

“Four witnesses have testified under penalty of perjury that after officials in Detroit announced the last votes had been counted, tens of thousands of additional ballots arrived without required envelopes,” Trump said. “Every single one was for a Democrat.”

What the report says: It dispatches with this — and the witnesses cited by Trump — quickly:

The presence of blank ballots also provides significant confusion, despite being necessary for the duplication of military ballots and damaged absentee voter ballots. It is noteworthy that attempting to utilize these ballots for any significant level of fraud would require perfectly matching precincts to voters, manipulating poll books with fake dates for requests and receipts of the ballots, voter’s signatures, and the clerk’s signature and time stamp.

One witness testified that none of the military ballots at her table being duplicated were for President Trump. However, upon questioning, the witness recounted she only witnessed a few dozen ballots. This is a very reasonable outcome given the overall performance of the candidates in these precincts and the amount witnessed, which is not statistically significant.

4. No dead people voting​

“Over 13 ballots were cast by nonresidents, and an estimated 17,000 ballots were cast by dead people,” Trump said Jan. 4 while talking about Michigan. “Some dead people, by the way, also requested an application. It’s true. Those are the ones that really bother me.”

In a Jan. 2 call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), Trump added: “They had, as an example, in Michigan, a tremendous number of dead people that voted. I think it was … 18,000, or some unbelievably high number.”

What the report says: “Unbelievably high” is right, in that the report found essentially none.

“The Committee was also provided a list of over 200 individuals in Wayne County who were believed to be deceased yet had cast a ballot,” it says. “A thorough review of individuals on that list showed only two instances where an individual appeared to have voted but was deceased.”

But even those weren’t fraud.

It says one instance involved a man who shared a name with his deceased 118-year-old father, and that it was explained by a “clerical error.” The second was a 92-year-old woman who died four days before the election but had submitted her absentee ballot before her death.

What’s more, the report indicates an extremely solid effort to prevent the counting of the latter types of vote.

“Notably, research showed the secretary of state and clerks were able to discover and remove approximately 3,500 absentee ballots submitted by voters while they were alive but died before Election Day, which is a commendable accomplishment,” the report says.

5. Not something fishy in Wayne County​

Trump and his team regularly pointed to large urban areas in key states as supposed evidence of fraud. They cited huge, late-night dumps of ballot counts that they claimed were suspicious because they were overwhelmingly for Biden. (Never mind that both absentee and in-person votes in urban areas went quite understandably heavy for Biden.) They also suggested there was something inexplicable about how many people voted in Detroit and how strongly it went for Biden.

“In Detroit, turnout was 139 percent of registered voters,” Trump said Jan. 6. “Think of that: So you had 139 percent of the people in Detroit voting.”

Trump at another point echoed ridiculous claims made by allies that somehow Biden did better than Hillary Clinton in urban areas only in key states — but not other urban areas. “Biden did poorly in big cities … except those of Detroit (more votes than people!), Philadelphia, Atlanta and Milwaukee, which he had to win,” Trump tweeted. “Not surprisingly, they are all located in the most important swing states, and are long known for being politically corrupt!”

What the report says: Poppycock:

Comparing historical results casts serious doubt over any claims of widespread impropriety in the Michigan 2020 election. In fact, turnout in 2020 increased less in Wayne county (11.4%) than in the rest of the state (15.4%) and President Trump won a greater percentage of votes there than he did in 2016 (30.27% vs 29.3%).

Additionally, the data suggests that there was no anomalous number of votes cast solely for the President, either in Wayne County or statewide."

 

[Chillicothe]

BTW, I read those 5 items reported above and I heard echoes of Georgia's struggle with the perceptions over their vote.

What Michigan dealt with.......well, so did Raffensberger in Georgia, Gabriel Sterling in Georgia. Both long time Republicans. Like Michigan's Republicans.

And their investigations, over the same charges ----dead voters, military ballots, etc -----resulted in the same conclusions. There's no there there.

But the damage by the promulgators is here and will linger.

IMHO

 

[JimH52]

Let's not move away too quickly from the Mitten state ----Michigan.

There are lessons there.

I am posting the whole enchildada of an analysis put out late this morning from the Washington Post.
It is good stuff. They do a good job in describing what the Michigan Legislature's report says.
And what they report is important to so many discussions this venue has hosted for months.

Those Republican legislators on their Oversight Committee address directly the objections that some posters here have voiced about the vote in Michigan. A handful of our fellow posters here have read or listened to some treatment from Midway Pundit, or from Rudy Giuliani, Tucker Carlson, Hannity, Ingram, Alex Jones and such....and those media personalities have made statements that some here have echoed as part of our discussions.

(Look, I'm well aware this will have limited viewership on this venue because it is long. And some will reject it offhand because the Washington Post reports it. But, regardless of who reports it.....it came from the Michigan Legislature. Controlled by Republicans, so it is important that we heed it.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is what the Michigan Republican Legislature's investigative committee uncovered:

"The most brutal debunking of Trump’s fraud claims yet — from Republicans"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...ebunking-trumps-fraud-claims-yet-republicans/

June 24, 2021 at 11:38 a.m. EDT

"The Republican Party’s response to former president Donald Trump and his allies’ wild, baseless claims of voter fraud has been anything but courageous. It’s been entirely clear most reputable members of the GOP are uncomfortable responding, often instead lodging watered-down or adjacent claims. Some Republicans have spoken out but generally only when forced to pick a side — such as when their state became the focus of Trump’s lies. But when the rubber has met the road, GOP lawmakers have routinely landed on one side: against Trump’s claims.


Perhaps the starkest example of that came Wednesday, from a Republican-led state Senate committee in Michigan. A report from the Oversight Committee makes little mention of Trump, instead focusing on claims made by allies or general conspiracy theories about the vote count in Michigan. But the committee was brutal in statements on those claims, just about all of which can be traced to Trump in one way or another.

The sum total is a broad, unsparing repudiation of Trump’s fraud claims in Michigan.

Let’s recap some of the key findings on the voter-fraud theories pushed by the former president, Rudolph W. Giuliani and other Trump allies.

1. Antrim County ‘switched’ votes​

Among the many theories about what happened in Michigan, the idea that votes were switched from Trump to Joe Biden in Antrim County might have been the most pervasive. As recently as last month, Trump called the ongoing litigation over the issue “the major Michigan Election Fraud case.” He added: “The number of votes is MASSIVE and determinative. This will prove true in numerous other States.”

What the report says: The report devotes its starkest language to debunking this theory — and strongly rebukes the likes of Trump by extension.

“The strongest conclusion comes in regard to Antrim County,” the committee’s Republican chairman, state Sen. Ed McBroom, says in an opening letter. “All compelling theories that sprang forth from the rumors surrounding Antrim County are diminished so significantly as for it to be a complete waste of time to consider them further.”

The report goes on to suggest a group that has pushed the theory, the Allied Security Operations Group (ASOG), cherry-picked data to create a misleading picture. It even goes so far as to suggest the Michigan attorney general should investigate those “who have been utilizing misleading and false information about Antrim County to raise money or publicity for their own ends.”

The coup de grace: “The Committee finds those promoting Antrim County as the prime evidence of a nationwide conspiracy to steal the election place all other statements and actions they make in a position of zero credibility.”

Among those to whom this accusation of “zero credibility” would logically now apply: Trump. That last quote is a near-exact summary of Trump’s claim that what happened in Antrim County was emblematic of what occurred in “numerous other States.” Trump also made this point in his speech just before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, saying, “In one Michigan county alone, 6,000 votes were switched from Trump to Biden, and the same systems are used in the majority of states in our country.”

2. Not more votes than voters​

This is one of the few instances in which the report actually directly calls out the Trump team for promoting baseless theories.

The basic idea is that there were a bunch of counties in Michigan in which there were more votes than actual voters. “In Michigan and Wisconsin, we have over-votes in numerous precincts of 150 percent, 200 percent and 300 percent,” Giuliani said. Lawyer Sidney Powell added it was “up to 350 percent in some places.”

What the report says: This ridiculous theory was debunked almost immediately, including in this space, but it persevered. The report in a footnote calls out Giuliani directly.

“The ‘more votes than voters’ theory, repeated by President Trump’s attorney, Rudolph Giuliani, was based on an affidavit from the ASOG co-founder that cites several Michigan counties where there were allegedly more votes than registered voters,” the report says. “However, the affidavit cited several townships in Minnesota, not Michigan. Even if the document referenced the right state, the claims regarding the Minnesota townships still were not accurate, according to data from the Minnesota Secretary of State.”

3. Blank ballots and troops voting for Biden​

Trump and his team regularly cited the idea that there was something suspicious both about (a) blank ballots that were seen in Michigan — particularly in Detroit-based Wayne County — and (b) that election watchers saw military ballots that were somehow only for Biden.

“Four witnesses have testified under penalty of perjury that after officials in Detroit announced the last votes had been counted, tens of thousands of additional ballots arrived without required envelopes,” Trump said. “Every single one was for a Democrat.”

What the report says: It dispatches with this — and the witnesses cited by Trump — quickly:

The presence of blank ballots also provides significant confusion, despite being necessary for the duplication of military ballots and damaged absentee voter ballots. It is noteworthy that attempting to utilize these ballots for any significant level of fraud would require perfectly matching precincts to voters, manipulating poll books with fake dates for requests and receipts of the ballots, voter’s signatures, and the clerk’s signature and time stamp.

One witness testified that none of the military ballots at her table being duplicated were for President Trump. However, upon questioning, the witness recounted she only witnessed a few dozen ballots. This is a very reasonable outcome given the overall performance of the candidates in these precincts and the amount witnessed, which is not statistically significant.

4. No dead people voting​

“Over 13 ballots were cast by nonresidents, and an estimated 17,000 ballots were cast by dead people,” Trump said Jan. 4 while talking about Michigan. “Some dead people, by the way, also requested an application. It’s true. Those are the ones that really bother me.”

In a Jan. 2 call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), Trump added: “They had, as an example, in Michigan, a tremendous number of dead people that voted. I think it was … 18,000, or some unbelievably high number.”

What the report says: “Unbelievably high” is right, in that the report found essentially none.

“The Committee was also provided a list of over 200 individuals in Wayne County who were believed to be deceased yet had cast a ballot,” it says. “A thorough review of individuals on that list showed only two instances where an individual appeared to have voted but was deceased.”

But even those weren’t fraud.

It says one instance involved a man who shared a name with his deceased 118-year-old father, and that it was explained by a “clerical error.” The second was a 92-year-old woman who died four days before the election but had submitted her absentee ballot before her death.

What’s more, the report indicates an extremely solid effort to prevent the counting of the latter types of vote.

“Notably, research showed the secretary of state and clerks were able to discover and remove approximately 3,500 absentee ballots submitted by voters while they were alive but died before Election Day, which is a commendable accomplishment,” the report says.

5. Not something fishy in Wayne County​

Trump and his team regularly pointed to large urban areas in key states as supposed evidence of fraud. They cited huge, late-night dumps of ballot counts that they claimed were suspicious because they were overwhelmingly for Biden. (Never mind that both absentee and in-person votes in urban areas went quite understandably heavy for Biden.) They also suggested there was something inexplicable about how many people voted in Detroit and how strongly it went for Biden.

“In Detroit, turnout was 139 percent of registered voters,” Trump said Jan. 6. “Think of that: So you had 139 percent of the people in Detroit voting.”

Trump at another point echoed ridiculous claims made by allies that somehow Biden did better than Hillary Clinton in urban areas only in key states — but not other urban areas. “Biden did poorly in big cities … except those of Detroit (more votes than people!), Philadelphia, Atlanta and Milwaukee, which he had to win,” Trump tweeted. “Not surprisingly, they are all located in the most important swing states, and are long known for being politically corrupt!”

What the report says: Poppycock:

Comparing historical results casts serious doubt over any claims of widespread impropriety in the Michigan 2020 election. In fact, turnout in 2020 increased less in Wayne county (11.4%) than in the rest of the state (15.4%) and President Trump won a greater percentage of votes there than he did in 2016 (30.27% vs 29.3%).

Additionally, the data suggests that there was no anomalous number of votes cast solely for the President, either in Wayne County or statewide."

Lesson learned; never believe a Serial Liar.​

 

[Lakhota]

Michigan Republicans exonerate themselves...

 

[Quasar44]

Well...I guess this is the 'big' news that Trump faithful had been looking for?

Michigan Republicans eviscerate Trump voter fraud claims in scathing report

The Republican-led Michigan Senate Oversight Committee rebutted voter fraud claims made by Donald Trump, debunking claims of malfeasance in the state's election last fall and affirming that Joe Biden was victorious, in a highly-anticipated report released Wednesday.
The report is the product of an eight-month inquiry and concludes there was no basis or evidence to support the Trump's repeated claims that the election results failed to reflect the will of the voters.
"As is often the case, the truth is not as attractive or as immediately desirable as the lies and the lies contain elements of truth," state Sen. Ed McBroom, the Republican chairman of the committee that investigated the election, said in a statement that accompanied the report. "We must all remember: 'extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof' and 'claiming to find something extraordinary requires first eliminating the ordinary.'"
The report, which was supported by every Republican on the committee, was clear: "This Committee found no evidence of widespread or systematic fraud in Michigan’s prosecution of the 2020 election."

McBroom said he feels confident the state's results were accurate following his review. He continues to offer support for Republican-led voting law changes. McBroom said many of the claims of malfeasance were the result of "a misunderstanding or an outright deception."

Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes, a 3 percentage point victory over Trump.

Oh yes just hundreds of thousands of zero signature ballots rolled in at 3 am
T won Michigan

 

[Chillicothe]

"Oh yes just hundreds of thousands of zero signature ballots rolled in at 3 am"

Prove it poster, Q.
Don't whine about it.
Be a man of resolve, actions and results.
Show us.

But know, as you assemble your proof you will need to overcome the findings of both the Democratic SOS &AG's 250 audits; and the Republican Senate's investigation recently in the news.
See below: (see Fox article in the link.)
"The state says that more than 1,300 Republican, Democrat, and nonpartisan clerks participated in the hundreds of audits of the state's election. A release from the state highlighted two flashpoints from the 2020 election that spawned a large amount of misinformation used to discredit the results of Michigan's presidential race.
Antrim County machines used accurately
Majority of Wayne County counting boards balanced"

Benson: 2020 election was Michigan's "most secure" in history

More than 250 audits reaffirmed the state's election results, including vote totals in both Antrim and Wayne counties - the source of a vast amount of misinformation about the 2020 election in Michigan.

www.fox2detroit.com

So, poster Q ---
Those who can, prove their assertions, So do so. Batter up.
Those who can't ----- whine.

Which are you?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Moving aside from Q's complaint above, what I thought notable in the reportage on the Republican investigation was that it hit .....directly on the head those very hot button items we've seen bandied about on this venue for both Michigan AND Georgia AND Pennsylvania AND Arizona. Trumplandia (read that as Don Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Krakenpot Powell, Lin Wood, Pillowboy, et al,) all used the same tactics in all of their complaining about 'fraud' in each state.

The Michigan Senate Republicans specifically debunked in their report:

• Antrim's computers switched votes. The investigation found----no, they didn't.
• There were more votes than voters. The investigation found ----no, there weren't.
• All military ballots went to Biden. The investigation found -----no, they didn't.
• Many voters who voted were dead. The investigation found ----- no, they weren't.
• Wayne Counties numbers were fraudulent. The investigation found ---- no, they weren't.

(see the Washington Post link in the post above.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

What I do find heartening about this reportage of both the Michigan findings AND the news on Giuliani's loss of his law license in New York ----is that, accountability for promulgating falsehoods -- lying ---about our democratic elections is coming due.

Hooray on that.

 

[surada]

BTW, I read those 5 items reported above and I heard echoes of Georgia's struggle with the perceptions over their vote.

What Michigan dealt with.......well, so did Raffensberger in Georgia, Gabriel Sterling in Georgia. Both long time Republicans. Like Michigan's Republicans.

And their investigations, over the same charges ----dead voters, military ballots, etc -----resulted in the same conclusions. There's no there there.

But the damage by the promulgators is here and will linger.

IMHO

Trump's claim is an accusation of either treason or incompetence.