Workers with the Detroit Department of Elections help organize absentee ballots at the Central Counting Board in the TCF Center on November 4, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan.Elaine Cromie | Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump’s campaign said Wednesday that it had filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the counting of election ballots in Michigan as it seeks to get what it called “meaninful access” to watch the tallying process at numerous counting locations.The lawsuit comes as Trump faces an ultra-tight race against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the key battleground state, and a number of other states, including Wisconsin, Pennsylania, Georgia and Nevada.At the time the suit was announced, NBC News was reporting that Biden was leading Trump by 49.5% of the votes cast in Michigan, compared to 48.8% percent for Trump, a margin of fewer than 38,000 votes. A total of 94% of the ballots in the state had been counted so far.The suit was announced as Trump suggested, without any evidence, that Michigan had “found” ballots to deny a victory to John James, the Republican nominee for the Senate race in Michigan.”As votes in Michigan continue to be counted, the presidential race in the state remains extremely tight as we always knew it would be,” said Bill Stepien, Trump 2020 campaign manager.”President Trump’s campaign has not been provided with meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law,” Stepien said.”We have filed suit today in the Michigan Court of Claims to halt counting until meaningful access has been granted. We also demand to review those ballots which were opened and counted while we did not have meaningful access. President Trump is committed to ensuring that all legal votes are counted in Michigan and everywhere else.”This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
