Yet another light of hope has popped up as two GOP members of Wayne County’s election board in Michigan signed affidavits Thursday night stating that they were bullied into approving the state’s 2020 presidential election results, and they do not believe the votes should be certified until irregularities are resolved.
Wayne County is home to Detroit, the state’s largest city and the deciding factor in Joe Biden’s alleged victory in Michigan.
On Wednesday, a wild meeting took place wherein the county’s election board initially failed to certify the results of the presidential election. There was a 2-2 deadlocked vote, with both Monica Palmer and William C. Hartmann voting against certification. After hours of aggressive badgering during the public comment, which included accusations of racism and various violent threats, the duo cracked, and agreed to certify.
Videos of the abuse were posted online by Jennifer Wilson of local news station WXYZ and others. Many on Twitter were celebrating the violent intimidation and abuse.
“You are a disgrace.” Rev Wendell Anthony says today’s decision dishonors veterans and all those who have been left out and miscounted for generations. @wxyzdetroit pic.twitter.com/MOmtW6NFjx
— Jennifer Ann Wilson WXYZ (@JennaWils) November 18, 2020
“What you’ve done here, is violate the law,” says attorney David Jaffe saying the reasons the 2 Republicans gave for not certifying the election are not valid according to the statute. He suggests they take a look at the Board of Canvassers manual. @wxyzdetroit pic.twitter.com/9ev3w4idbb
— Jennifer Ann Wilson WXYZ (@JennaWils) November 18, 2020
In one video, an irate black woman states that she is “coming for their heads.” This is the kind of intimidating threat that would get a white person sent to prison.
Before the Republicans on the Wayne County Board of Canvassers reversed their vote on certifying election results, they were blasted by Democrats such as Ashley Daniels, who warned: “We are going to come for y’all heads. You guys are not right. You are unethical.” pic.twitter.com/lE6bLL0s7A
— Niraj Warikoo (@nwarikoo) November 18, 2020
Public Comment is ????? pic.twitter.com/sarUXsP4X0
— Joe F Spaulding ? (@beyond_process) November 17, 2020
.@RookRookey correctly calls the Boards' actions unconscionable.
She observed election workers performing well under extreme duress, most of which attributable to the actions of right wing agitators and election disruptors inside and outside the TCF Center in Detroit on E-Day. pic.twitter.com/jrPadQFSzX
— Joe F Spaulding ? (@beyond_process) November 18, 2020
This man, Abraham Aiyash, who is some kind of Pakistani or something, accuses them of being “racists,” which in this society is worse than being a pedophile. He also gives the name of the school Monica’s children go to.
He calls out really existing racism explicitly. Nice job, Rep. @AbrahamAiyash. pic.twitter.com/zwZuy9kFqr
— Joe F Spaulding ? (@beyond_process) November 18, 2020
This black woman called Monica out by name, accusing her of committing an atrocity against black people.
Trische Duckworth of Survivors Speak. She demands Monica returns to stand before the public she is disenfranchising.
Trische is a hella fantastic activist and has gotten plenty of racist electeds rightfully canned. pic.twitter.com/9qP69mR5fB
— Joe F Spaulding ? (@beyond_process) November 18, 2020
There are more than a dozen more of these videos which we’ve not included here. Very few people would have been able to take this kind of abuse without cracking.
With the affidavits, the pair are rescinding votes they cast as a result of the intimidation campaign, raising an incredible challenge for a state already mired by allegations of election fraud. The statements will likely be an in for Donald Trump, who has been attempting to sue the state.
“I voted not to certify, and I still believe this vote should not be certified,” Hartmann wrote. “Until these questions are addressed, I remain opposed to certification of the Wayne County results.”
Palmer echoed this: “I rescind my prior vote to certify Wayne County elections.”
The “discrepancies” cited by the two Republicans include the inability or unwillingness of the county to match ballots to qualified voters, an issue which they claim affected nearly thee quarters of Detroit’s precinct poll books.
“The Wayne County election had serious process flaws which deserve investigation. I continue to ask for information to assure Wayne County voters that these elections were conducted fairly and accurately. Despite repeated requests I have not received the requisite information and believe an additional 10 days of canvas by the State Board of canvassers will help provide the information necessary,” Palmer explained.
It is currently unclear whether the affidavits rescinding the votes will stop Michigan state officials from proceeding with the process, the next step of which is to name electors to vote in the electoral college.
Here are the two affidavits:
It will be interesting to see how the media covers this. I suspect they will do the same as the Zoom mob: accuse them of racism and menace them with threats (the threats are unlikely to be as direct as those seen above).
The videos of these two people being intimidated in such an aggressive fashion are shocking, and one has to ask: is this sort of thing happening in other places in the country?