Thread by @charles_gaba

There's nearly 10,000 people watching the Michigan Board of Canvassers meeting already, which I'm guessing is around 9,990 more than usually do.

Annnnd we're off: Nearly 17,000 people watching.

BREAKING: THEY APPROVED THE MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING! I REPEAT: THEY APPROVED THE MINUTES!

OK, here we go...certification of the Nov. 3rd election.

The MI Elections Director is recommending that they, you know...certify it.

He's giving a long speech about what a kick-ass job everyone did in handling record-breaking turnout, record-breaking absentee voting, etc etc in the middle of a global pandemic.

Now he's throwing some light shade at those who "aren't happy" with the results of the election and who treat the county clerks, poll workers, etc. like crap. Noting that the MI Bureau of Elections hasn't found a damned thing to indicate there are any real discrepancies.

He's reiterating that yeah, there's always a handful of extremely minor/nominal discrepancies due to human error/etc, but nothing which would amount to even a rounding error.

Now Heather Meingast, the Assistant MI AG, is noting that no recounts/audits/etc can even be done UNTIL *AFTER* THE ELECTION IS CERTIFIED.

Now Aaron Van Langevelde is asking to go into public comment for over 700 people but the chair is saying they need to put the motion out there first. Hoo boy.

Looks like they're going into public comment after all.

720 people at just 60 seconds apiece would take 12 hours. I hope to God they aren't planning on having every one of them speak before voting.

There's nearly 28,000 people watching now, btw.

Christopher Thomas, who I think is a *former* MI Elections Director, is noting that there's been a huge improvement in how Detroit has dealt with elections in recent years and that they did an amazingly good job this year under difficult circumstances, etc etc.

Everything this guy is saying is good and heartening, but he talked for like 5 minutes. If they plan on giving everyone 5 minutes it'll take a week just to get through public comment.

Now MAGA Norm Shrinkle is trashing the election, saying it "didn't go smoothly", bla bla bla.

Now he's asking Thomas "what circumstances are there under which we could delay the vote".

Thomas explains to Shrinkle in very clear terms that VOTING NO IS NOT AN OPTION...that any challenges have to wait until AFTER the certification.

Now Shrinkle is asks if he can sit on his ass for 40 days. Thomas saying that unless one of them gets sick or dies, no reason to.

Now MAGA Van Langevelde is questioning whether "shall" means "shall" (cc: @nicholas_bagley)

Yeah, both the Republicans on the board are being dicks. Shocker.

Thomas explains to the GOP guys that they're a ministerial body only, they aren't a tribunal, they aren't judges, they can't investigate claims of fraud, etc etc.

Now we have Daniel Baxter, the Detroit Director of Elections.

Note: Some take a different view of the 2nd GOP guy, saying he's only asking the questions which he knows the answers to in order to get it on the record for later. I guess it depends on your POV (shrug).

Baxter is explaining how the Detroit elections team ramped up recruitment of younger poll workers, etc etc to deal with the increase in turnout + the pandemic situation, etc.

Apparently Detroit workers got paid $600 - $700/day, which I assume is a lot more than standard...talking about the multiple shifts to avoid people getting too exhausted, the training process, the electronic pollbook, etc.

Talking about all the ways that Detroit beefed up training, equipment, logistics, etc etc to prep for the 2020 election.

Baxter talking about his long history as an election worker, he's seen all sorts of elections but nothing as impressive as this year's operation.

Baxter wraps up with Lincoln's "Of the people, by the people, for the people" quote.

Shinkle asks whether there were any counts which were out of balance, claims one was off by 600 votes.

Baxter says there were 3 which were off initially, one of them was fully balanced after the canvass/certification.

Going into some question about the electronic poll books.

Now Shinkle is trying to dig into the regulations that there be at least 1 member from each party at each precinct location. Apparently they weren't able to find enough Republicans to work at the polls in Detroit, which isn't exactly a shocker.

Now Jeff Timmer, a former MI Board of Certification member is speaking. He was there in 2009 - 2012 and states point-blank that there's no choice here: The board HAS to certify the election TODAY. Biden won by ~150K; it wasn't remotely close, but even if it was, it's irrelevant.

GOP Van Langevelde again asking if he knows of any legal authority which allows them to drag their feet.

I'm beginning to come around to thinking Van Langevelde *isn't* doing this to be a dick but to make it crystal clear to MAGA idiots that they have no choice.

Next up is @BarbByrum, the Ingham County Clerk

...oh, wait...Susan Nash, Livonia City Clerk.

Nash reiterates that THE VOTE HAS TO BE CERTIFIED.

Says she's fine having an audit to make sure they resolve any oddball issues as possible; as a clerk she'd prefer to have all 0's across the board, BUT that the certification has to happen first.

Next up: Pittsfield Township Clerk.

"YOU GUYS NEED TO CERTIFY THE RESULTS."

(I'm beginning to sense a theme here...)

Again: If the public comment is gonna consist of 700+ county/city/township clerks telling them to certify the damned election, that's a heartening defense of democracy and free elections...but it's gonna take all day.

Next, @BarbByrum, Ingham County Clerk.

"CERTIFY THE F*CKING ELECTION." (paraphrase)

The irony here is that having 700+ clerks demand that they certify the election *today* could result in them not being able to certify the election today due to it taking over 10 hours to get through all of them.

Now Shinkle is upset that Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey isn't there, claiming she was "summoned" to be a "witness" today, but apparently she was simply *invited* to be there and chose not to.

Annnnnnnd...they've gone into a recess.

OK, I can't keep a livetweet of this whole thing. Again, if all 700+ people get to comment for a couple of minutes we'll be here until tomorrow afternoon.

HOO BOY...WE'RE BACK AND *LAURA COX* IS UP...

(she's the chair of the Michigan GOP...this should be fun...)

.@MIGOPChair is asking to "delay" the certification due to "numerous irregularities" and claims that "every step of the election" was "stacked against Republicans".

Basically, a crock of shit.

She's claiming that the entire state was wonderful to Republicans except for Detroit, where they were "disrespected" and "shoved out of the process".

Claims Republican challengers were "intimidated" and "treated with hostility".

Riiiiight.

The ultimate Karen (no offense to decent people named Karen).

Shinkle, who doesn't grasp the concept that he's not in a courtroom, is now asking Cox whether they have the ability to conduct an audit before the certification. Which a dozen experts have patiently explained NO, THEY DON'T.

Oh for God's sake... now @JohnJamesMI's lawyer is flapping his gums. "Charlie Spies". Really, that's his name.

He used the old "Websters Dictionary Defines..." chestnut.

Since he's babbling, I'll again take this moment to remind folks that @JohnJamesMI claimed that "tort reform" will somehow provide healthcare coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.

acasignups.net/20/10/30/updat…

Holy shit...did he just recommend bringing in JOE LIEBERMAN to be a trustworthy person to put in charge???

Van Langevelde is now correctly stating to Mr. Spies that nope, he doesn't have any legal authority to conduct a canvass/audit/etc.

Spies claims that he doesn't have any legal authority NOT to either.

Read that again.

Apparently Spies thinks that unless the law says that the board *can't* conduct a recount, that means they're allowed to.

Spies tells Van Langevelde that he's wrong. 👀

#HotGOPonGOPAction!

I hereby apologize to Mr. Van Langevelde for saying he was being a dick earlier. He's clearly just playing CYA to make it crystal clear that he HAS to certify the election.

He & Spies are still fighting over what the law says.

Spies says that Van Langevelde can only certify if he personally thinks that Detroit's results are accurate, and that if he thinks they aren't he's required to not certify.

Van Langevelde is "agreeing to disagree".

Now Spies is insisting that Van Langevelde has to "adjourn".

Using Spies' logic, ANYONE has the legal authority to conduct an audit/recount of an election as long as their job description doesn't say that they can't.

Any nurse, teacher or sanitation worker can apparently do so.

Ah...Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey *did* show up to comment after all, "summons" or no.

She notes that the Detroit City Clerk, Elections Board, etc. etc. are NONPARTISAN. Their job is simply to administer the elections properly, openly, transparently, etc.

Winfrey again stressing that Detroit worked their asses off, trained extensively, had to deal w/the pandemic, etc. She's PISSED.

Shinkle is again digging into the fact that Detroit wasn't able to find enough Republicans to fill every precinct as a...challenger? As a poll *worker*? There's an important difference.

Winfrey notes that some of the Republicans APPLIED TOO LATE to be hired as poll workers.

Shinkle falsely claims Winfrey claimed there were Republicans at each precinct; that's not what she said. She said they had "a significant number", but doesn't know the precise number because she's not a witness in a trial.

She notes again that many Republicans applied TOO LATE.

Shinkle keeps claiming the law requires them to hire enough Republican poll workers for every precinct, but I'm guessing it includes a provision stating that they have to TRY to do so.

If there's 300 precincts & only 200 Republicans *apply* on time, WTF are they supposed to do?

🚨 RED ALERT: Monica Palmer, of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers...the one who only wanted to count Wayne County votes "outside of Detroit" is up...

Now Shinkle is giving Palmer the floor to cry crocodile tears over people being mean to her because she made a blatantly racist comment.

She's also claiming death threats to her/her daughter, which, sadly, are probably accurate and are unacceptable.

Next up is Mary Ellen Gurwewitz on behalf of the Michigan Democratic Party...her video isn't working.

She's ripping on John James & the GOP for bringing 6 frivolous lawsuits, etc etc.

BOOM: Gurwewitz uses the "R" word: A Racist assault by the Trump campaign targeted specifically on high-black population cities.

Notes the James campaign is participating in it willingly.

Not they've stopped her due to *audio* problems. They want to email her a phone number.

Now her audio works and she's back on her rant, which kind of lost a lot of its steam due to the audio interruption...

She notes that Palmer singled out Detroit even though there were LARGER discrepancies in 90% white Livonia vs. 80% black Detroit, etc.

WAIT, THEY'RE JUST *STARTING* PUBLIC COMMENT *NOW*???

Apparently EVERY SPEAKER UNTIL NOW WAS SCHEDULED...*NOW* they're going to the 700+ public speakers at THREE MINUTES APIECE?? GAH!

OH, CRAP. Former state Senator *PAT COLBECK*??? Good God.

Here's a flashback to my evisceration of this jackass a few. years back:
acasignups.net/15/05/04/updat…

We're up to 33,000 people watching, by the way.

Now he's yammering about there being more votes than voters in various areas. I have no idea if he's confusing these cities with ones in Minnesota like the Trump campaign did.

His 3 minutes is up and they cut him off while he was still yammering.

Now Shinkle is ASKING HIM QUESTIONS?? I thought public comment was *purely* comment, no Q&A??

COLBECK BRINGS UP "DOMINION".

He's talking about internet connections, ethernet cables, etc.

Colbeck is insisting that the computers were connected to the internet. I don't know which computers he's referring to.

One of the Democratic members finally chimes in: If you have evidence of fraud, have you submitted it to the Attorney General??

Julie Matuzak (the Dem board member) notes that the board HAS NO AUTHORITY TO INVESTIGATE THAT.

Colbeck just uttered "raison d'etre". I guess that proves he's a brilliant lawyer, or that he watches a lot of Law & Order.

Oh!! It's State Representative @lpohutsky19! She's awesome!

"there's a clear legal duty for the board to certify the election...the insinuation that there was anything done improperly is just sowing doubt in our system."

Now it's on to my own State Rep, @MariManoogian!

Are all 148 state House & Senate members gonna call in?

.@MariManoogian: "The obvious strategy by a *particular* candidate and a *particular* campaign..." heh...

WHO COULD SHE MEAN???

OHHHH!!! Shinkle falsely claims @MariManoogian just won a "very close election". Manoogian shuts him down: "I won my race by over 10,000 votes"! BOOM.

(FWIW: @MariManoogian won her race for HD40 58/42, or 38,162 to 27,897...that's a 16 point win)

I'm afraid I missed @RachelHood76, sorry!

Next: Derek Dobies, mayor of Jackson, MI...he says he witnessed Republicans openly plotting to challenge pretty much EVERY absentee ballot, including military ballots, etc.

Dobies uses @SenMikeShirkey's own words: "We will follow the NORMAL PROCEDURE"...which REQUIRES that the board certify the f*cking election.

Annnnnd they're going into recess again.

I'll do my best to keep updating this but I do have to get some work done/etc so I can't promise anything...

THEYRE BACK: They say they have "over 500 more" people to speak so they're cutting it down to 1 - 1.5 minutes. Also some other technical instructions.

Next up: A woman who observed the poll workers doing their jobs properly. Certify the damned election.

Another woman saying to certify the damned election.

OK, I'm out of here. There's gonna be 400-500 more comments like this. THEY'RE GONNA GO UNTIL MIDNIGHT AT THIS RATE. I STRONGLY ADVISE THAT THEY TAKE THE F*CKING VOTE SOON AND CONTINUE PUBLIC COMMENT AFTERWARDS.

PLEASE TELL ME THAT NO ONE NOT ALREADY IN THE QUEUE CAN STILL JUMP IN. Otherwise the *public comment period* could take us past the Electoral College vote.

For the love of God, SOMEONE CALL THE VOTE.

https://twitter.com/MariManoogian/status/1330982607203528704

Oh for heaven's sake...it just figures that right after I gave up, they decide to call for the vote. Sheesh.

BOOM: Van Langevelde (one of the 2 Republicans) *votes for the motion to certify the election*.

Now Shinkle is rattling off a written statement. Something about the 2016 Jill Stein recount.

CLARIFICATION: While Shinkle continues to babble, Van Langevelde MAY not have actually been voting to certify--he voted to support "the motion" but it might've been some other motion??

Apologies if I was wrong about that.

Shinkle just said that he's voting NOT to certify.

OK...um...guess that's it: I think they just voted to certify 3 to 1.

THERE we go: It's official. Michigan's 2020 election has been certified by the state certification board, 3 to 1.

https://twitter.com/Redistrict/status/1330987621334609925

...which means...RECOUNT TIME!!

CORRECTION: Technically Michigan was certified 3 to 0...the other Republican (Shinkle) voted to Abstain.

I don't know if that's to avoid going to jail or what, but whatever. MI is certified regardless.

Meanwhile, you'll forgive me if I don't live-tweet the rest of this:

https://twitter.com/michpoligal/status/1330989313954295808

FOLLOWUP:

https://twitter.com/michpoligal/status/1331065661305614336