Michigan elections board smoothly certifies results of 2024 election

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan's elections board voted unanimously Friday to certify the results of the 2024 election, a stark difference from 2020 when Republican allies of Donald Trump sought to delay certification in an effort to cast doubt on the election.

The Michigan Board of State Canvassers voted 4-0 to certify the election results. The panel consisting of two Democratic and two Republican members also voted to thank and commend the state Bureau of Elections and election administrators throughout the state for a well-run election.

“Just a note of thanks, publicly, to the team at Bureau of Elections and to all the folks downstate for a fabulous election,” Republican member Richard Houskamp said before the board voted to certify the results.

Four years ago, Trump and his supporters pressured election officials in the state’s largest county and on the state board to not certify the results of the 2020 election as part of his targeted efforts to overturn the election.

Trump personally pressured two Republican officials on the Wayne County Board of Canvassers that year to oppose certification. The county is home to Detroit, a stronghold of Democratic voters in the battleground state.

The state board of canvassers eventually voted to certify the 2020 election with one Republican board member abstaining at the time.