An investigation by the Republican-led Michigan Senate Oversight Committee found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, refuting former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of irregularities and affirming President Joe Biden’s win.
“This Committee found no evidence of widespread or systematic fraud in Michigan’s prosecution of the 2020 election,” a 55-page report released by the committee reads.
The report, which is the culmination of an eight-month investigation, debunks falsehoods about the election spread by former President Trump and his allies in the aftermath of the 2020 election. The former president made false claims about voter fraud in Michigan as recently as May.
Sen. Ed McBroom, chairman of the Senate Oversight Committee, said in a statement that the investigation was “lengthy, thorough, and revealing,” and allowed the committee to find “both real vulnerabilities and resiliency within the state’s elections system,” but confidently asserted that the election results in the state were legitimate.
President Joe Biden won the Wolverine State by about 154,000 votes in the 2020 election, a reversal of fortunes for his Republican opponent, who won a surprising victory in reliably blue state in the 2016 election.
McBroom’s statement says that “every major concern about the election was closely investigated,” specifically mentioning “incidents at the TCF Center in Detroit” and “misreporting of results from Antrim County.”
In Antrim County, human error led to initially skewed results which showed Biden winning; the error was quickly rectified and Trump handily won the county. The error led to false reports of fraud.
“All compelling theories that sprang forth from the rumors surrounding Antrim County are diminished so significantly as for it to be a complete waste of time to consider them further,” McBroom said in his statement.
The report concluded that “citizens should be confident the results represent the true results of the ballots cast by the people of Michigan.”
“The committee strongly recommends citizens use a critical eye and ear toward those who have pushed demonstrably false theories for their own personal gain,” the report says in its summation, adding their recommendation that the state’s attorney general “consider investigating those who have been utilizing misleading and false information about Antrim County to raise money or publicity for their own ends.”
There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, a statement echoed by officials of both parties, including Trump’s former attorney general William Barr. Dozens of cases alleging voter fraud were rejected in state and federal courts nationwide, including the Supreme Court.
