Outgoing US President, Donald Trump, has taken another step in his legal strategy to upend his election loss by filing a lawsuit in Michigan, as Georgia announced a recount of its votes.
The Republican President’s team went to federal court to try to block Michigan, a Midwestern battleground state that he won in 2016 by less than one percent, from certifying the November 3 election results. In Michigan, Biden received 51% of the popular vote, and Trump received 48%, awarding the state’s 16 electoral votes to Biden.
Citing alleged irregularities, Trump campaign general counsel, Matt Morgan, said, “As we have said from the beginning, our campaign will continue to ensure all Americans can trust in a free and fair election, and this lawsuit is a noteworthy step toward achieving that goal.”
Trump has declined to concede the election to Biden, instead, he lodged a flurry of lawsuits in pivotal states to try to back up his unsupported claims of widespread voter fraud in the US. The Michigan lawsuit also made allegations of misconduct in the voting, with focus on the Democratic stronghold of Wayne County, which includes Detroit.
Just last week, a judge in the Michigan Court of Claims threw out a separate lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign, saying it lacked any specific evidence and was hearsay.
Georgia To Recount Votes By Hand
Meanwhile, the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger announced a hand recount of all ballots cast in the state, which he said was expected to begin this week and would be completed in time to certify the results by the November 20 deadline.
“This will help build confidence,” said Raffensperger, surrounded by a bipartisan group of local election officials. “It will be a heavy lift. We will work with the counties to get this done in time for our state certification.”
Biden currently leads Trump in Georgia by 49.5% to 49.2%, the first for a Democrat since 1992, and a major blow to the Republican Party. Earlier, the Trump campaign said it had evidence that a handful of dead people in Georgia had voted in last week’s US election.
The Democrat candidate, Biden, secured more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to gain the presidency on Saturday by winning Pennsylvania after four tense days of counting, delayed by a surge in mail-in ballots due to the coronavirus pandemic.
