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Michigan Judge Ends Trump Backers’ Bid to Toss Detroit Votes

  • Judge finds that claims by challengers aren’t credible
  • Detroit said case could undermine ‘very bedrock of democracy’
A worker with the Detroit Department of Elections inspects an absentee ballot in Detroit, Michigan, on Nov. 4.

A worker with the Detroit Department of Elections inspects an absentee ballot in Detroit, Michigan, on Nov. 4.

Photographer: Elaine Cromie/Getty Images

Updated on

A Michigan judge rejected a lawsuit by supporters of President Donald Trump seeking to block certification of the election results in Detroit and surrounding Wayne County, ruling claims that counting of ballots there was plagued by widespread fraud were groundless.

Circuit Court Judge Timothy Kenny ruled Friday that the suit failed to show why he should halt the certification or order an audit of the vote tally in Michigan’s largest city, which voted heavily in favor of President-Elect Joe Biden. Major media outlets declared Biden the winner of Michigan and its 16 electoral votes last week, and he leads the vote count by more than 146,000 votes.