LANSING – Today, state House candidate Steve Frisbie’s lawyers filed a lawsuit in Calhoun County Circuit Court to stop the re-tabulation of thousands of absentee ballots cast in the City of Battle Creek, potentially disenfranchising thousands of voters in the county’s largest city.
Late this morning, after being informed of the lawsuit by the Frisbie campaign, re-tabulation was halted. An hour later, the board of canvassers took a second unanimous vote to direct election workers to resume re-tabulation of the Battle Creek absentee votes.
“I want to see every vote accurately counted, regardless of whether it impacts the results of the election,” said state Rep. Jim Haadsma (D-Battle Creek). “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.”
The bipartisan Calhoun County Board of Canvassers unanimously approved a motion Tuesday to direct city Clerk Victoria Houser to re-tabulate absentee ballots in Battle Creek. The motion was made in response to reports from the Calhoun County Clerk of an error in processing absentee ballots following the November 5 election. After conferring with the State of Michigan Bureau of Elections, the county clerk indicated the canvassers did have the authority to order re-tabulation.
When election returns were posted early on Wednesday, November 6th, they showed Frisbie with a 1381 vote advantage over Jim Haadsma. On Friday, November 8th, after the Canvass had begun, the county clerk posted a new version of election returns showing the margin was only 58 votes and continues to indicate inconsistencies.
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