'willful ignorance'
Michigan GOP investigation finds no voter fraud evidence, slams 'demonstrably false theories'
Republicans in Michigan have found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the state, and they're urging the public not to listen to "demonstrably false theories" suggesting otherwise.
The Republican-led Senate Oversight Committee in Michigan spent months investigating the 2020 election in the state, and a 35-page report prepared by Sen. Ed McBroom said that while there are some "glaring issues" with the state's election law, "there is no evidence presented at this time to prove either significant acts of fraud or that an organized, wide-scale effort to commit fraudulent activity was perpetrated in order to subvert the will of Michigan voters," Bridge Michigan reports.
Michigan was one of the states that President Biden won in 2020 after former President Donald Trump previously won it in 2016, but Trump since November has continued to push baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud and refused to concede the election. As of last month, Trump was still falsely claiming that votes were "intentionally switched" from him to Biden in Michigan, Axios notes.
According to Bridge Michigan, the report released Wednesday debunks numerous false election conspiracy theories, including claims of a fraudulent "ballot dump" in Detroit and of dead voters. The report also describes claims that votes in Antrim County were "manipulated" by outside entities "indefensible," saying there was a human error there that was fixed.
"The committee is appalled at what can only be deduced as a willful ignorance or avoidance of this proof perpetuated by some leading such speculation," McBroom reportedly wrote.
The report also "strongly recommends citizens use a critical eye and ear toward those who have pushed demonstrably false theories for their own personal gain," and it says the attorney general should consider investigating those who have been "utilizing misleading and false information about Antrim County to raise money or publicity for their own ends."