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Trump campaign announces lawsuit to halt vote counting in Michigan

November 4, 2020
<p>Poll volunteer sanatizing voting stations at Southside Community Center polling location in Lansing Michigan on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. </p>

Poll volunteer sanatizing voting stations at Southside Community Center polling location in Lansing Michigan on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.

President Donald Trump's campaign filed a lawsuit to halt vote counting in Michigan, according to Trump 2020 Campaign Manager Bill Stepien.

"As votes in Michigan continue to be counted, the presidential race in the state remains extremely tight as we always knew it would be," Stepien said in the statement.

The lawsuit alleges Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is not allowing bipartisan teams to review absentee ballots or challengers to observe the process. According to the lawsuit, this violates Michiganders constitutional rights.

Currently, 96% of votes have been reported in Michigan, a swing state. Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is leading at 49.5%; however, Trump is close behind at 48.9%, according to the Associated Press unofficial results.

Trump's campaign has not been provided with access to several counting locations, according to Stepien. The suit demands to review ballots opened and counted when the campaign did not have access.

All Michigan elections have been transparent and accessible to both political parties, Ryan Jarvi, Michigan Attorney General's Office Press Secretary, said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the attorney general's office has not been notified of this lawsuit, Jarvi said. When served, the office will review and respond accordingly.

A similar suit was lost in Nevada, in which Trump's campaign requested to halt ballot counting in the state's largest county, according to Bloomberg.

The lawsuit was filed in the Michigan Court of Claims, the statement said.

Additionally, the campaign's suit requests a speedy hearing and to halt the processing of absentee votes immediately until an election inspector from each political party is present.

This is a developing story. Stay with The State News for updates.

The story was updated at 5:02 p.m. to include the lawsuit record.

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