RUTHFULLY YOURS

Wayne County, Michigan, is home to Detroit and is the state’s largest metropolitan area. On election day, Wayne County famously covered the windows in the vote-counting area so that observers could not witness the count. Nevertheless, on Tuesday, the two Republican members of the Wayne County election board agreed to certify the vote count – although they did so along with a demand for an audit. They’ve now rescinded their agreement, saying that fellow board members bullied and misled them.

I reported yesterday the strange journey that the Wayne County election board took. It started by refusing to certify the election. Then, abruptly, the two Republican board members who held up the certification did an about-face and agreed to certify the vote. The only caveat was that they demanded a “comprehensive audit” of “unexplained precincts.”

On Wednesday, Americans learned why those two Republicans had suddenly agreed to certify the voting results in Wayne County. It wasn’t because they listened to their Democrat peers’ reasoned arguments and changed their minds. Instead, it was because they were subjected to ferocious abuse, with people calling them evil racists, and because at least two people obliquely threatened their and their family’s safety:

When Monica Palmer and William Hartmann were called racist and fascist, they must have thought of what happened in Portland, when a member of Biden’s base murdered Aaron “Jay” Danielson in cold blood – and then Antifa celebrated the murder. Now they found themselves facing the same mob mentality.

Not only did Palmer and Hartmann stare directly at the mob, but Democrats also promised that, if they certified the votes, state officials would conduct a comprehensive audit. Palmer and Hartmann included that language in their agreement to certify votes. By Wednesday, the Democrats made it clear they did not intend to abide by the promise.

As word leaked out about the intimidating tactics used against them, Palmer and Hartmann found the strength to take a stand. Both rescinded their certification votes from Tuesday:

In an extraordinary turnabout that foreshadows possible legal action, the two GOP members of Wayne County’s election board signed affidavits Wednesday night alleging they were bullied and misled into approving election results in Michigan’s largest metropolis and do not believe the votes should be certified until serious irregularities in Detroit votes are resolved.

The statements by Wayne County Board of Canvassers Chairwoman Monica Palmer and fellow GOP member William C. Hartmann rescinding their votes from a day earlier threw into question anew whether Michigan’s presidential vote currently favoring Democrat Joe Biden will be certified. They also signaled a possible legal confrontation ahead.

“I voted not to certify, and I still believe this vote should not be certified,” Hartmann said in his affidavits. “Until these questions are addressed, I remain opposed to certification of the Wayne County results.”

Added Palmer in her affidavit: “I rescind my prior vote to certify Wayne County elections.”

Both GOP board members said their concerns included there were discrepancies in nearly three quarters of Detroit’s precincts poll books where ballots are supposed to be matched to qualified voters.

In addition to discussing the fraudulent promise to conduct an audit, Palmer asserted in her affidavit, “The comments [from Democrats] made accusations of racism and threatened me and members of my family.”

Note to Democrats: If you act as if you have something to hide (for example, refusing to allow election observers or acting like a pack of dogs), you’re going to look guilty. And calling people racist for wanting to check out whether you really are guilty may end up being a less effective tactic than it used to be.

Image: Covering up windows at Detroit’s absentee ballot counting center. YouTube screengrab.