Michigan Judge Denies Trump Campaign Lawsuit To Halt Ballot Count

MICHIGAN — A Michigan judge has denied a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the campaign of President Donald Trump against the Michigan Secretary of State demanding the halt of ballot counting and and additional access to the counting process.

Judge Cynthia Stephens said during a noon hearing Thursday she plans to have the written order by Friday. Stephens said the majority of votes have already been counted in Michigan, and that was the key goal of the campaign's lawsuit.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said the state is pleased with the judge's ruling.

"She identified the same defects in the campaign's filings as we did, namely a complete lack of any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of election officials, and meritless legal arguments," Nessel said of Stephens. "Michigan’s elections have been fair, transparent and reflect the will of the voters, and we will continue to defend against any challenges that claim otherwise.”

As of Thursday, Biden leads Trump 2,788,425 to 2,639,037 in votes in Michigan. The race was already called for Biden by the Associated Press and other media outlets.

Read More: Trump Campaign Files Lawsuit To Halt Ballot Counting In Michigan

The lawsuit was filed at 4 p.m. Wednesday in Michigan's court of claims. Trump's campaign manager, Bill Stepien, said in a statement that the lawsuit demands to review ballots that were opened and counted while the campaign did not have access.

"As votes in Michigan continue to be counted, the presidential race in the state remains extremely tight as we always knew it would be," Stepien said in a statement. "President Trump's campaign has not been provided with meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law.

"President Trump is committed to ensuring that all legal votes are counted in Michigan and everywhere else."

The suit alleged that an election challenger, Eric Ostergren of Roscommon County, was turned away access from an absentee voter counting board in Oakland County.

Another portion of the lawsuit included an affidavit arguing an election worker in Detroit's TCF Center was told to change the date of receipt for an absentee ballot.

Thor Hearne, the attorney for the plaintiffs, said the lawsuit was also seeking for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to issue a directive to election commissioners providing video of remote ballot drop boxes so challengers could see when ballots were delivered.

Trump's reactions on social media and the ensuing lawsuit prompted widespread confrontations and issues on the ground level. In Detroit, videos by people near the TCF Center showed angry gathers outside the center, where votes were being counted. Local police had been called in to line the area and prevent people from entering.

The outside group, in response, chanted, "Stop the count!" and "Stop the vote!"

Information and reporting from The Associated Press contributed to this report.