BY ANNA LIZ NICHOLS, MICHIGAN ADVANCE
A lawsuit by Macomb County Republicans to decertify the 2020 election, in which President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump in Michigan, was dismissed Wednesday.
Judge Paul L. Maloney of the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Macomb County Republican Party, as well as Irving Township Clerk Sharon Olson and former GOP and US Taxpayers Party gubernatorial candidate Donna Brandenburg.
Maloney’s opinion asserts that the plaintiffs had not used facts to assert that votes had been diluted.
“This lawsuit appears to be yet another brought by misguided individuals who reject the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Many of Plaintiffs’ allegations rely on tired examples of alleged malfeasance that have been debated for several years, most without proof or resolution,” Maloney said.
The defendants listed in the now-dismissed lawsuit included Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who are both Democrats.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who also is a Democrat, released a statement Thursday saying she’s glad to see “yet another baseless case invoking wild and unfounded claims” questioning the integrity of the 2020 election dismissed.
“The Court appropriately saw this suit for what it was, an effort to decertify the results of a free and fair election and disregard the votes of millions of Michigan residents,” Nessel said. “Those responsible for these lawsuits should not be permitted to continually assault our democracy and undermine the electorate’s faith in the accuracy of our elections in craven pursuit of partisan goals in a court of law.”
This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.
