Wayne County board certifies Nov. 8 election results

The Wayne County Board of Canvassers on Tuesday unanimously approved the Nov. 8 general election results. Wayne is one of 83 counties in Michigan where results are certified. 

The board consists of two Democrats and two Republicans who are nominated by local political party organizations. Richard Preuss and James Britton are the Wayne County Democrats. Robert Boyd and Katherine Riley are the board’s Republicans. 

Outside the Ralph Vigliotti Building in Detroit where the meeting was held, the Election Defense Coalition, about 50 people representing community, labor and environmental organizations, rallied and encouraged the county board to approve the results. They argued the election process was free of irregularities and fraud, something that GOP activists and former President Donald Trump continually alleged during the 2022 general election process. The coalition included labor unions, social action nonprofits and equity groups such as Mothering Justice, 482Forward, Detroit Action and Service Employees International Union. 

Participants also spoke out against what they described as “repeated attempts at delegitimizing and disenfranchising tens of thousands of Black Detroit voters.” African Americans make up about 79% of Detroit, Michigan’s largest city. 

“We’re here to ensure that the people’s voice is not only heard but is respected,” said Donavan McKinney, an African American Democrat who was elected earlier this month to a state House seat in metro Detroit. 

Patrick Colbeck, a GOP former state senator from Canton, attended the meeting. He told the Advance prior to its start that the election process could have had system errors that included software and how the results were tabulated. He called for a “forensic audit” prior to certification.

“I definitely have concerns about the data that they are using,” said Colbeck.  “They are seeking to certify an election based on tabulation equipment that has not been tested.”

The Secretary of State’s Office will hold a meeting in Lansing on Monday to consider the work of each county board.