President Donald Trump’s campaign appears to be asking Michigan lawmakers to appoint 16 Electoral College members who will vote for Trump despite his loss by more than 154,000 votes.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, and a spokesperson for House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, said legislators in both chambers received calls from the Trump campaign. A Republican state representative also received an email from a Trump campaign official who asked lawmakers to overrule the election result and appoint electors for Trump, citing unproven voter fraud allegations.
The email claims Trump directed his staff to contact Michigan lawmakers because the election “has been compromised.” A recording of one phone call obtained by MIRS News shows the campaign asked lawmakers whether the president “can count on you” to draft a resolution to appoint electors for Trump.
Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani called on Republican activists to pressure lawmakers to disregard the election result and appoint electors who will vote for Trump. Giuliani, joined by Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox, said certifying the election results is a “criminal act.”
“I would ask you, if you believe and as you see the evidence if you come to believe it even more, there’s is nothing wrong with putting pressure on your state legislators,” Giuliani said, later adding. “Make sure your legislators stand up for a free and fair election, and in this case, protect the Republican Party. Democrats stick together. Not only do they stick together, they commit crimes together. Nobody is asking a Republican to commit a crime. I wouldn’t do it. And the President would fire me if I did it. But I am asking you not to be a coward.”
Shirkey, in a statement published on Twitter, said lawmakers will follow the normal process of appointing electors. Republican leaders of the House and Senate have previously said the Legislature will not award Michigan’s 16 electors to Trump.
Electors will convene at the Capitol on Dec. 14 to cast their vote for presidential and vice-presidential candidates who won Michigan’s popular vote. State law requires each elector to cast their vote for candidates of the political party that nominated them.
Related: Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani coming to Michigan to give testimony on 2020 election
A person who identified herself as a representative of the Trump campaign claimed Michigan lawmakers can defy the popular vote, alluding to a provision of the U.S. Constitution allowing state legislatures to appoint electors in the manner of their choosing.
Michigan law states electoral votes automatically go to the candidate who received more votes during the November election. Biden won Michigan by 154,000 votes, according to results certified by the Board of State Canvassers.
“Assertions that Michigan legislators have authority different from what is expressly found in state law are inaccurate,” Shirkey wrote Tuesday night. “Any change would require intervention by our courts.”
Trump campaign officials claimed “conservative” legislatures in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia are considering similar action. An email from the campaign to Michigan lawmakers states “this fraudulent election is far from over,” though votes have already been certified in each of those states.
Trump would need at least three of those four states to overturn the election result in order to earn enough electoral votes to win the presidency. Biden is poised to earn 306 Electoral College votes when electors officially record their vote on Dec. 14, while Trump has 232.
U.S. Attorney General William Barr told the Associated Press this week that Justice Department investigators have not found fraud “on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”
The president did not seek a recount in Michigan, but his legal challenges in the state continue. The campaign appealed a Court of Claims ruling that dismissed an attempt to prevent the counting of votes in Wayne County.
Angela McCallum identified herself as a representative of the Trump campaign in the call recorded by MIRS News. McCallum declined to answer questions when contacted by MLive on Tuesday.
This isn’t the first time the Trump campaign has contacted Michigan officials. Trump invited Shirkey and Chatfield to the White House before Michigan’s election results were certified, and the president personally called a Republican chairwoman of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers last month.
Giuliani is scheduled to give a presentation before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday evening. The Senate Oversight Committee heard eyewitness accounts from dozens of poll challengers during a seven-hour hearing Tuesday.
The Trump campaign, Republican Party leaders and GOP activists have pressured the Legislature to investigate various unproven claims of irregularities and fraud. The bulk of claims, many of which were dismissed in lawsuits, are focused on issues that allegedly impacted the process of counting Detroit absentee votes at TCF Center.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson pledged to conduct a post-election audit of operations in Wayne County as part of a previously planned review of several jurisdictions. The Michigan Supreme Court denied an appeal from poll challengers seeking to prevent the Wayne County results from being certified, dashing a lawsuit held up by the Trump campaign as proof of fraud.
Election officials attributed minor discrepancies found in Wayne County’s results and elsewhere to human error that is common each election year. Chris Thomas, a former state elections director who advised the city of Detroit during the election, has testified that there was no fraud associated with the processing of absentee ballots in Detroit.
Trump supporters have held a series of protests at the Michigan Capitol refusing to accept Biden as the president-elect. Some supporters have called on the legislature to overturn the result and choose electors who will vote for Trump.
Legislative committees have no power to change the result of the election or mandate an audit of results. Senate Oversight Committee Chair Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, said the ongoing Capitol hearings on the election will help inform future legislative changes to election law.
McBroom said he didn’t hear any testimony that revealed new issues, but any evidence of fraud will be forwarded to the Attorney General. McBroom laughed when asked about the campaign’s attempt to replace Democratic electors, but said he hasn’t been contacted.
“It’s clear to me that some of these problems expose huge vulnerabilities, whether or not those vulnerabilities were exploited and how badly they were exploited is still something that demands additional evidence, not just speculation,” McBroom said.
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