Trump campaign files lawsuit to 'halt counting' in Michigan

Detroit ballot counting.
(Image credit: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images)

The Trump campaign said it filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to "halt counting" in Michigan until it is granted "meaningful access" to witnessing the count.

Bill Stepien, Trump's campaign manager, claimed that the Trump 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 law" and further demanded "to review those ballots which were opened and counted while we did not have meaningful access."

Trump and his campaign have long threatened that as soon as the "election is over, we're going in with our lawyers." Early Wednesday morning, the president went as far as to say he would ask the Supreme Court to halt the vote count — something even Republican election lawyers said was far fetched. Earlier Wednesday, the Trump campaign said it would reques a recount in Wisconsin, which Biden appeared to have won by 20,000 votes with all the votes counted; the campaign has also attempted to stir up conspiracy theories about "surprise ballot dumps," which aren't a thing.

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Halting the vote in Michigan or no, though, as of 2:10 p.m. ET, Joe Biden was winning the state 49.6 percent to 48.7 percent, with 94 percent of estimated votes reported.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.