Rashida Tlaib Furiously Calls Decision Not to Certify Wayne County ‘Racist and a Subversion of Our Democracy’

It was announced tonight that the Wayne County Board of Canvassers deadlocked 2-2 along party lines on whether the county’s Nov. 3 election results should be certified as at least four state and federal lawsuits sought to stop the process.

The decision came after absentee ballot poll books at 70% of Detroit’s 134 absentee counting boards were found to be out of balance without explanation with the mismatches varying anywhere from one to more than four votes. 

Member of “The Squad” and Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib was clearly very upset and decried the decision in a pair of tweets.

Tlaib said that “It’s plain and simple, folks. The Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers put politics above their duty to our residents.

“Suggesting that all of Wayne County can be certified, EXCEPT for Detroit, is horrifying[ly] racist and a subversion of our democracy,” she believes and in a retweet, she added, “This is so disgusting. Our residents don’t deserve this. No community does.”

This is so disgusting. Our residents don't deserve this. No community does. https://t.co/0bN2edAtjS

— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) November 17, 2020

Tlaib also retweeted Detroit reporter Steve Neavling, who claimed that “Republicans’ refusal to certify the Wayne County election underscores the lingering legacy of disenfranchisement: Decades after the Voting Rights Act, people in power are still trying to thwart the will of Black Americans.”

Republicans' refusal to certify the Wayne County election underscores the lingering legacy of disenfranchisement: Decades after the Voting Rights Act, people in power are still trying to thwart the will of Black Americans.

— Motor City Muckraker (@MCmuckraker) November 18, 2020

Chairwoman Monica Palmer, a Republican, defended the decision and said, “Based on what I saw and went through in poll books in this canvass, I believe that we do not have complete and accurate information in those poll books.

A few days after the election, when it was announced that Joe Biden had won Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer said that “I’ve always said that the road to the White House runs through Michigan, but you can’t win Michigan without earning the trust of voters in Detroit.”

I’ve always said that the road to the White House runs through Michigan, but you can’t win Michigan without earning the trust of voters in Detroit. pic.twitter.com/LnkWukYuSK

— Gretchen Whitmer (@gretchenwhitmer) November 8, 2020