Post-election lawsuits related to the 2020 United States presidential election from Michigan

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The Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign launched numerous lawsuits contesting the election processes of Michigan. All of these have either been dismissed or dropped.

Summary of post-election lawsuits[]

Michigan post-election lawsuits related to the 2020 United States presidential election hide
First Filing Date Case Court Docket no(s). Outcome Comments References
November 4, 2020 Donald J. Trump for President v. Benson Michigan Court of Appeals 20-000225-MZ Dismissed Lawsuit brought by the Trump Campaign attempting to stop the counting of absentee ballots in Michigan. Dismissed by court of claims. [1][2][3][4][5][6]
November 11, 2020 Donald J. Trump for President v. Benson U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan 1:20-cv-01083 Dropped Trump lawsuit claiming fraud in the Wayne County election. The suit seeks to halt the certification of election results in Wayne County and statewide.

Voluntarily dismissed.

[7][8][9][10]
November 4, 2020 Stoddard v. City Election Commission of the City of Detroit Michigan Third Judicial Circuit Court 20-014604-CZ Dismissed A motion for preliminary injunctive relief during the interim was denied by Judge Timothy M Kenny stating that the "...Plaintiffs have made only a claim but have offered no evidence to support their assertions." at the time the motion was filed. [7][11][9]
November 11, 2020 Bally v. Whitmer U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan 1:20-cv-01088 Dropped Plaintiffs seek to exclude all votes from Wayne, Washtenaw and Ingham Counties from Michigan's certified vote count.

Voluntarily dismissed.

[12][13][14][15][16]
November 9, 2020 Costantino v. Detroit Michigan Supreme Court 162245 Ruled Plaintiffs alleged election fraud, seeking to prevent the election results of Detroit and Wayne County from being certified. State trial court denied motion for injunction and issued a dispositive ruling; state court of appeals denied application for leave to appeal and peremptory relief.

The state Supreme Court issued a dispositive ruling that the case was moot since the Board had already certified the election results.

Dispositive Ruling as moot

[9][17][18][19][20]
November 30, 2020 Johnson v. Benson Michigan Supreme Court

Lansing, Michigan

162286 Dismissed
November 16, 2020 Johnson v. Benson United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan 1:20-cv-01098 Dropped Voluntarily dismissed. [21][22]
November 25, 2020 King v. Whitmer U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan 2:20-cv-13134-LVP-RSW Dismissed December 7, 2020: Emergency Motion for Declaratory, Emergency, and Permanent Injunctive Relief denied

Appealed to the 6th Circuit.

Petition to the Supreme Court of the United States for writ of certorari filed.

[12][23][24][25][26]
January 20, 2021 Genetski v. Benson 20-000216-MM Ruled March 9, 2021: Absentee ballot application signature verification process implemented by Secretary of State Benson is illegal.

[27][28]

Bailey v. Antrim Cty.[]

On November 23, 2020, William Bailey filed a lawsuit against Antrim County.[29] Judge Kevin Elsenheimer ordered a forensic exam of the county's election equipment,[30] and also allowed Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to intervene in the case.[31] The machines were forensically imaged by Russell James Ramsland, Jr., and the judge ordered the release of Ramsland's report.[32][33] On December 14, Michigan's top election officials denounced the 23-page report.[34]

Bally v. Whitmer[]

On November 11, 2020, registered voters in Michigan sued state officials, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer, in federal district court. The voters alleged a variety of irregularities, including the exclusion of poll watchers from the canvassing process, and asked that votes from Wayne, Ingham, and Washtenaw Counties not be counted. The complaint cited similar cases Costantino v. Benson and Trump v. Benson. On November 16, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the suit.[35][36][37][38][39]

Costantino v. Detroit[]

On November 9, Republican poll challengers filed a lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court against Detroit election officials, alleging fraud and misconduct during the vote count at TCF Center and asking for the court to stop the certification of Wayne County results.[40] Chief Judge Timothy M. Kenny denied the petition, finding the "[p]laintiffs’ interpretation of events is incorrect and not credible."[41] The judge stated that the plaintiffs did not fully comprehend the "TCF absent ballot tabulation process" because they failed to attend a familiarization session on October 29.[42] The plaintiffs appealed to the state's court of appeals, which declined to hear the case;[43] on November 23, the Michigan Supreme Court also declined to hear the case.[44]

Donald J. Trump for President v. Benson (State court)[]

The Trump campaign filed suit in Michigan State Court on November 4 against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson,[45] claiming its election observers were not allowed to view the ballot count, as required by Michigan law, and asking the court to stop the counting of votes.[46][47]

On November 6, Judge Cynthia Stephens denied the request,[48] noting in her ruling that the "essence of the count is completed, and the relief is completely unavailable".[49] The judge also noted the official complaint did not state "why", "when, where, or by whom" an election observer was allegedly blocked from observing ballot-counting in Michigan.[50]

Donald J. Trump for President v. Benson (Federal court)[]

On November 11, 2020, the Trump campaign filed suit[51] in federal district court against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. The campaign asked the court to block Michigan's certification of the vote, repeating allegations found in Constantino v. Detroit. The campaign provided hundreds of pages of affidavits[52] from poll challengers that "described isolated grievances and perceived irregularities, not systemic fraud."[41] On November 19, the Trump campaign voluntarily dismissed the case.[41][53]

Johnson v. Benson (Federal court)[]

On November 16, 2020, registered voters and poll challengers from Michigan sued Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson in federal district court. The plaintiffs claimed the secretary enabled fraud on election day, and asked to block certification of the vote results until an audit could be performed. On November 18, the plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the suit.[54][55]

Johnson v. Benson (State court)[]

On November 26, 2020, the Amistad Project[56] filed Angelic Johnson, et al. v. Jocelyn Benson, et al. as an extraordinary writ[57] in the Michigan State Supreme Court.

King v. Whitmer[]

On November 25, 2020, a group of voters filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court Eastern District of Michigan against Gretchen Whitmer, the Governor of Michigan, and other state officials. The plaintiffs alleged a variety of violations of the Election Code and as a remedy, asked the court to decertify the state's election results or certify them for Trump.[58][59] This was one of the 'Kraken' cases litigated by conservative lawyer Sidney Powell.[60]

On December 7, Judge Linda V. Parker denied the plaintiffs requested relief, saying it "greatly harms the public interest" and that the "ship has sailed." Parker further stated that the plaintiffs only offered "theories, conjecture, and speculation" of potential vote switching. The judge felt that the plaintiffs’ real motive for filing the case was not to win, but to shake "people's faith in the democratic process and their trust in our government."[61][60][62]

On December 11, the plaintiffs filed a petition for a writ of certorari at the Supreme Court of the United States.[26] This petition was denied.[63]

The city and state asked the court for sanctions against the plaintiff's lawyers. The court ordered the plaintiff and their lawyers to be jointly and severely liable for the city and state's legal fees, and ordered that plaintiff's counsel attend legal education courses. The court also ordered a copy of the decision be sent to the disciplinary authority of each lawyer's bar association for investigation and possible suspension or disbarment.[64]

Stoddard v. City Election Comm'n of the City of Detroit[]

The conservative group Election Integrity Fund filed a lawsuit in the Third Judicial Circuit of Michigan asking for a motion of injunctive relief ordering Detroit election workers to stop "curing" absentee ballots.[65] Chief Judge Timothy Kenny denied the motion for injunctive relief on November 6,[66] finding that the plaintiffs did "not offer any affidavits or specific eyewitness evidence to substantiate their assertions ... Plaintiffs' allegation is mere speculation. Plaintiffs' pleadings do not set forth a cause of action."[67][46] The judge noted that "sinister, fraudulent motives" were alleged, but that the "plaintiffs' interpretation of events is incorrect and not credible".[68] Following Kenny's ruling, Dana Nessel, Michigan's attorney general, issued a statement saying Michigan has "always been committed to a fair, transparent[,] and secure election that ensures every legal vote is counted".[69]

References[]

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  2. ^ Tillman, Zoe (November 5, 2020). "Judges Are Rejecting Trump's False Claims Of Shady Poll Practices After Looking At The Evidence". Buzzfeed News. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  3. ^ Parks, Miles (November 10, 2020). "Trump Election Lawsuits Have Mostly Failed. Here's What They Tried". NPR. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  4. ^ "Donald J. Trump and Eric Ostergren v. Jocelyn Benson" (PDF). State of Michigan. November 4, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Benson". SCOTUSblog. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  6. ^ Herb, Jeremy; Polantz, Katelyn (November 7, 2020). "'Democracy plain and simple': How the 2020 election defied fraud claims and pandemic fears". CNN. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Abramson, Alana; Abrams, Abigail (November 9, 2020). "Here Are All the Lawsuits the Trump Campaign Has Filed Since Election Day—And Why Most Are Unlikely to Go Anywhere". Time. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  8. ^ "Docket for Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Benson, 1:20-cv-01083". CourtListener. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
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  11. ^ Stoddard v. City Election Commission Archived November 16, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, Opinion & Order, November 6, 2020.
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  21. ^ Quinn, Melissa (November 21, 2020). "Where the Trump campaign and Republican election-related lawsuits stand". CBS News. Archived from the original on November 26, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
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  29. ^ William Bailey v. Antrim County (13th Circuit Court, MI).Text
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  32. ^ Ramsland, Russell (December 13, 2020). "Allied Security Operations Group, Antrim Michigan Forensics Report" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  33. ^ Egan, Paul (December 14, 2020). "Judge orders release of report examining Antrim County vote tabulators". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
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  35. ^ Williams, Pete (November 23, 2020). "Trump's election fight includes over 40 lawsuits. It's not going well". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
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  37. ^ "#14 in Bally v. Whitmer (W.D. Mich., 1:20-cv-01088) – CourtListener.com". CourtListener. Archived from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  38. ^ "Lawsuit dropped against Gov. Whitmer over alleged voting irregularities in Wayne, Ingham and Washtenaw counties". WXMI. November 16, 2020. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
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  40. ^ "Costantino v. Detroit". Stanford-MIT Healthy Elections Project. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  41. ^ Jump up to: a b c Bazelon, Emily (November 14, 2020). "Trump Is Not Doing Well With His Election Lawsuits. Here's a Rundown". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  42. ^ Voreacos, David (November 13, 2020). "Michigan Judge Ends Trump Backers' Bid to Toss Detroit Votes". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
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  57. ^ Angelic Johnson, et. al. v. Jocelyn Benson, et. al. (Michigan State Supreme Court 2020).Text
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  63. ^ https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/20-815.html
  64. ^ https://www.michigan.gov/documents/ag/172_opinion__order_King_733786_7.pdf
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