A legal challenge to stop the recount of thousands of absentee ballots in a hotly contested Michigan state House race was quickly dismissed last Wednesday, allowing the continued tallying that could impact the razor-thin lead in Calhoun County’s 44th District. The contentious election pits incumbent Democratic Rep. Jim Haadsma against Republican rival Steve Frisbie. After discovering an error in the initial vote reporting, Frisbie’s lead shrank from 1,381 votes to just 58, stirring up legal and political tumult.
Frisbie, looking to secure his slender advantage, had filed a lawsuit to interrupt the re-tabulation process a legal move struck down by Judge John A. Hallacy of the Calhoun County Circuit Court.FOX 17reported that the Calhoun County clerk identified a discrepancy with absentee ballots post-Election Day, leading to the decision to re-tabulate the votes. While the Board of Canvassers had begun certifying ballots, they opted to move forward with the re-tabulation even as the judge’s decision was pending.
The debate over the legality of re-tabulation ensued as Frisbie’s legal representatives called it an “ad hoc” recount and against Michigan law. TheDetroit Newscoverage highlighted that Michigan law permits canvassers to correct tallying errors, which was grounds for Judge Hallacy’s decision to deny the motion.
Democratic Party representatives criticized the legal effort, with Attorney Christopher Trebilcock, defending Haadsma, notably commenting, “The bipartisan Calhoun County Board of Canvassers already voted unanimously twice to reject the arguments and to follow the law and guidance from the Bureau of Elections to correct the election evening errors by re-tabulating,” as detailed byThe Detroit News. Haadsma intends to ensure that every vote is counted accurately, emphasizing trust’s importance in the electoral process.
The dismissed suit sought to hold the board of canvassers from acting before the absentee ballots were fully canvassed. Haadsma opposed this legal move, expressing the need for accuracy and legitimacy in vote counting. “Confidence in our elections is essential to the health of our democracy, and the people of Battle Creek deserve to know that every effort was made to ensure the accurate tabulation of their votes,” Haadsma said in a statement, as reported by theDetroit Free Press. The re-tabulation process involves running ballots through counting machines again, differing from a traditional hand recount and is expected to clarify the accuracy of the vote count amidst the controversy.
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