Trump Sues to Halt Michigan, Pennsylvania Counts

Campaign manager says team hasn't been given 'meaningful access'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 4, 2020 1:46 PM CST
Updated Nov 4, 2020 2:55 PM CST
Trump Sues to Halt Michigan Count
Election officials huddle around a table as absentee ballots are processed at the central counting board, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Detroit. .   (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

President Trump’s campaign says it has filed lawsuits trying to halt the vote counts in battlegrounds Michigan and Pennsylvania. The latest Michigan count gives Joe Biden a small lead, but the race is still too early to call. Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien said in a statement Wednesday that the campaign "has not been provided with meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law," the AP reports. He said a suit was filed Wednesday in the Michigan Court of Claims "to halt counting until meaningful access has been granted.” Michigan and Pennsylvania are critical battleground states that helped deliver Trump the presidency four years ago, along with Wisconsin, which was called for Biden Wednesday afternoon.

The Trump campaign's lawsuit to temporarily stop the vote count in Pennsylvania claims there is a lack of "transparency." Justin Clark, Trump’s deputy campaign manager, said in a statement Wednesday that the campaign is "suing to stop Democrat election officials from hiding the ballot counting and processing from our Republican poll observers." He said the campaign wants "to temporarily halt counting until there is meaningful transparency and Republicans can ensure all counting is done above board and by the law." Clark also said the campaign would seek to intervene in an ongoing Supreme Court case involving the deadline for receiving mail-in ballots. (More Election 2020 stories.)

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