Detroit News: “The Wayne County Board of Canvassers deadlocked 2-2 Tuesday along party lines on whether the county’s Nov. 3 election results should be certified, even as at least four lawsuits sought to stop the process. The decision came after a number of absentee ballot poll books were found to be out of balance, a situation that did not stop the same board from certifying the results in the August primary or the county’s November 2016 general election results.”

“A county board that fails to canvass within 14 days after the election must give all of its documentation to the Secretary of State’s office and Board of State Canvassers, which then has 10 days to complete the work and canvass and certify the results, according to the board’s canvassing manual. Wayne County must pay for the state canvassing work, according to board guidance. Board Vice Chairman Jonathan Kinloch, a Democrat, called the decision by the two Republican members ‘reckless and irresponsible.’ Chairwoman Monica Palmer, a Republican, defended the decision. ‘Based on what I saw and went through in poll books in this canvass, I believe that we do not have complete and accurate information in those poll books,’ she said. When Kinloch protested that additional county tax money is being spent on the ongoing canvass, Palmer said she would be open to certifying much of Wayne County with the exception of Detroit.”