Whitmer Warns of Legal Ramifications for Anyone Attempting to Disenfranchise Black Voters

Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) said Thursday on MSNBC’s “All In” that Michigan election officials should be aware there are legal “ramifications” possible for attempts to disenfranchise Black voters.

Whitmer said, “The vote margin actually in Michigan is now actually 157,000 votes. That is 14 times the vote margin that Trump won Michigan in 2016, 14 times. The State Board of Canvassers are coming on Tuesday. They have one legal duty, and that is to certify this election so we can send our electors in. They will be Joe Biden electors, and he will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on January 20th.”

Hayes said, “There was reporting tonight that one of the people on that state board, which again like the Wayne County Canvassing Board, is a bipartisan board split evenly, is saying that he’s leaning towards not certifying. How big of an issue is it if you get Republican officials at these various levels essentially buying into these completely insane conspiracy theories?”

Whitmer said, “I think it’s really dangerous, to be honest, the fact that our two highest-ranking Republicans in the legislature are going to the White House. They’re being summoned there by a president who lost the state, and I wasn’t invited to the meeting. I have not been briefed on what they’re going to cover, but we’re all assuming he will try to implore them the way he did these county canvassers to do whatever he can to not certify the will of the people of Michigan. I think it’s incredibly dangerous they’re even entertaining the conversation.”

She added, “We all know what the law is in Michigan. This is an embarrassment to the state, and it’s an effort to disenfranchise the most populous county in our state, which by the way, is the county that is home to the most largest African-American part of our population. This has so many ramifications, many legal, many ethical. I would advise anyone to tread very carefully because there could be much longer-term problems for anyone who participates in an effort to undermine the election by a candidate who was on that ballot.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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