Election officials and poll watchers faced off in a tense scene in Detroit on Wednesday after President Trump’s campaign filed a lawsuit in Michigan demanding greater transparency for campaign observers.
Video circulating on social media showed groups inside and outside of the TCF Center yelling “stop the count” as votes were tabulated by election officials Wednesday afternoon.
The state of Michigan and its 16 electoral votes were called for Democratic nominee Joe Biden shortly afterward, but the Trump campaign is already taking legal action to contest the count.
More than 100 reported “challengers,” individuals who work at polling places or precincts to monitor the ballot count process, stormed the center to oversee poll workers counting absentee ballots. Approximately 200 challengers were already present at the center, prompting security concerns.
#BREAKING: Large, animated crush of “stop the count” protestors trying to push their way into TCF hall in #Detroit where ballots are being counted.
They’re being blocked by guards at the door.
Pizza boxes are pushed against the window to obstruct view. It’s tense. @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/zFhzd88skX
— Steve Patterson (@PattersonNBC) November 4, 2020
“We have exceeded the amount of challengers. We are not allowing any more challengers in at this time,” an election worker at the TCF center said of the process.
The scene at Detroit’s absentee ballot counting center is growing more heated. The windows now being covered up. Allegations of violations. Sec. of State says she welcomes challenges. pic.twitter.com/oUL4A0h3Ku
— Matt Finn (@MattFinnFNC) November 4, 2020
Michigan’s former elections director Chris Thomas, who now serves as a special adviser to the office of Detroit city clerk Janice Winfrey, said blanket challenges to the process won’t be tolerated. “We will not tolerate massive challenges without a reason to challenge,” Thomas said. “You don’t just get to decide out of thin air that somebody’s not a registered voter and challenge them. You need reasons for that,” Thomas said.
According to Michigan Radio, the TCF Center faced heightened scrutiny because of past “irregularities” pertaining to absentee ballots, such as when the number of votes recorded did not match the number of voters recorded in poll books in over 70% absentee precincts in Detroit’s August primary. Winfrey blamed the mistake on amateur, inexperienced poll workers rather than fraud.
Trump tweeted that his team has “claimed” Michigan and other key states. “Additionally, we hereby claim the State of Michigan if, in fact, there was a large number of secretly dumped ballots as has been widely reported!” he added.
