DETROIT — President Donald Trump's reelection campaign filed a lawsuit seeking a halt of ballot counting in Michigan on Wednesday "until meaningful access has been granted" to observe the process even as Democratic candidate Joe Biden was declared the winner in Michigan.
The suit was filed in Michigan's Court of Claims as state clerks neared a complete tabulation of the votes in an election that set a new record for voter turnout.
"We also demand to review those ballots which are opened and counted while we did not have meaningful access," the Trump campaign said in a statement.
The campaign said it had been denied access to "numerous counting locations" to observe the process "as guaranteed by Michigan law," claims countered by Democratic officials.
"As votes in Michigan continue to be counted, the presidential race in the state remains extremely tight as we always knew it would be," said Bill Stepien, campaign manager for Trump's 2020 campaign.
Attorney General Dana Nessel's office said earlier Wednesday that it had not been served a copy of the suit.
"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," said Ryan Jarvi, a spokesman for Nessel's office.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Wednesday she was proud of Michigan election workers "who are meticulously, securely, transparently, tirelessly" conducting the ballot counting process.
"And let me abundantly clear: we are not going to let any campaign, candidate, or political party stop our work to ensure every voice is heard," Benson said in a tweet.
The lawsuit filed by Trump's campaign was assigned to Judge Cynthia Stephens, an appointee of Democratic former Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The filings include a complaint and emergency motion for immediate relief.
In the past year, Stephens ruled to uphold Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's emergency powers in Michigan, struck down the governor's ban on flavored vaping products and, most recently, required election officials to count absentee ballots postmarked before the election. Higher courts overruled the judge's late ballot and emergency powers decisions.
The suit — which alleges damages to election challenger Eric Ostergren of Roscommon County — argued that Michigan's absent voter counting boards are not allowing inspectors from each party to be present. It does not say which specific absent voter boards were denying access to inspectors.
It also contended that Benson, a Detroit Democrat, should have allowed poll challengers to watch surveillance video of Michigan's ballot boxes where voters deposited their ballots. The filing requested to have ballots that were deposited in drop boxes be segregated until challengers can review video of the drop box.
It asked for a stoppage of counting until an inspector from each party is present at counting boards and allowed access to video footage from ballot boxes.
"Secretary Benson's actions and her failure to act have undermined the constitutional right of all Michigan voters — including the voters bringing this action — to participate in fair and lawful elections," the suit said.
Michigan election law requires that ballot drop boxes be clearly labeled as such, securely locked and, if located inside a building, be secured against removal or continuously staffed. If outdoors, the drop box also must be bolted to the ground or a stationary object, monitored via video surveillance and located in a public, well-lit area.
The law applies to drop boxes installed after Oct. 1, and requires communities that have installed drop boxes prior to that date to do their best to comply with the requirements.
The lawsuit is "as frivolous a lawsuit as it gets," said Mark Brewer, former chairman for the Michigan Democratic Party and a lawyer.
Brewer has been at the TCF Center in Detroit, where absentee ballots are being counted, throughout Wednesday and worked with others who have been present there Monday and Tuesday. Absentee vote tally discrepancies in Detroit marred the August primary and prompted Benson's office to form a partnership with Detroit Clerk Janice Winfrey to correct the problems.
"I am at TCF, and there have been hundreds of GOP challengers here these past few days," Brewer said, while noting they were "ill-trained" and "rude."
"Nobody is being denied access," he said.
Biden led 49.9% to 48.6% with 99% of precincts reporting in the state as absentee results stemming from late-night counting boards trickled in Wednesday morning and afternoon.
Republicans were complaining Wednesday about not being allowed an equal number of poll watchers to witness absentee vote-counting in Detroit's TCF Center in the same numbers as Democrats.
Trump won Michigan in 2016 by 10,704 votes.
The Wednesday announcement came shortly after the campaign said it would demand a recount in Wisconsin, where Biden was declared the winner by a small margin.
Any judge reviewing the case is likely to take a close look at how many potential ballots would flip should he or she grant the request and how those changes would affect the vote margin between the two candidates, said Michael Kang, professor of law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago.
The 70,500 vote spread between Biden and Trump as of 6 p.m. Eastern time in Michigan would be significant in that decision, he said.
"It's inconceivable that any of the challenges, regardless of how right they are by any part of the law, will change the outcome of the election," Kang said.
"I don't mean to say it's not important to get the counting of votes right," he said. " ... But when we're in this kind of post-election day world, that tends to be the standard."
