GOP canvassers in Michigan county block effort to certify county election results
18 November 2020
Republicans members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers voted against certifying the local election results Tuesday, in a move that could delay official approval in the state, The Detroit News reports.
Why it matters: The move "is a boost for President Donald Trump, who is grasping for ways to slow down his inevitable defeat," the AP writes. It comes amid a series of losses in court for Trump and GOP allies in lawsuits that have sought to delay or block President-elect Joe Biden's victories.
- Biden won the county by about a more than 2-1 margin, according to unofficial results cited by AP.
The state of play: The board was deadlocked 2-2 in a vote along party lines to certify the election's result, after Republican members noted that absentee ballot poll books at 70% of Detroit's 134 absentee counting boards had discrepancies with the number of actual votes counted.
- Yes, but: The same body certified the vote in the state's primary election in August, despite a comparable number of inconsistencies, per The Detroit News.
What they're saying: Michigan'sSecretary of State Jocelyn Benson wrote in a statement that it's common for some precincts to be out of balance by a small number of votes, and that the development "is not an indication that any votes were improperly cast or tabulated."
- Michigan GOP Chair Laura Cox wrote she was proud that "enough evidence of irregularities and potential voter fraud was uncovered resulting in the Wayne County Board of Canvassers refusing to certify their election results."
Wow! Michigan just refused to certify the election results! Having courage is a beautiful thing. The USA stands proud!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 18, 2020
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.