Trump reiterates 'big voter fraud' after Georgia, Michigan setbacks

US President Donald Trump reiterates his claim of massive voter fraud, a day after receiving a rebuke from senior Republican lawmakers in Michigan over his latest attempt to overturn the outcome of the presidential election.

Trump, a Republican, has refused to concede defeat in the November 3 election and has mounted multiple legal challenges to reverse the results in several key states. His Democratic rival, Joe Biden, was declared the projected winner.

The Trump campaign’s efforts have so far met with little success in the courtroom or on the ground.

Two top Republican lawmakers from Michigan announced on Friday, after meeting with the president at the White House, that they were committed to the “normal process” of certifying the vote in the state.

“(As) legislative leaders, we will follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan’s electors,” Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and House of Representatives Speaker Lee Chatfield said in a joint statement.

Michigan Republicans vow to follow 'normal process' after Trump meeting

In a clear rebuke to President Trump, two senior Republican lawmakers in Michigan said they would follow the law in in certifying the vote in the battleground state.

On Saturday, Trump said the media were misreading the statement, in which the pair also expressed confidence in a review of Michigan’s election process being conducted by state legislators.

“Massive voter fraud will be shown!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

The invitation of state lawmakers to the White House prompted backlash among watchdogs and legislators who viewed it as an attempt by the president to influence elected officials and push for pro-Trump electors to be appointed in Michigan.

The humiliation in Michigan came on the heels of another blow in Georgie, where the secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, announced Friday that a recount of all ballots had confirmed Biden as the winner.

With the vote certified in Georgia, the Trump campaign now has two working days to request another recount in the southern state. The president’s legal team has already indicated it planed to launch a lawsuit.

A number of lawsuits in other battleground states have already been either dropped or dismissed.

In the face of the setbacks, the Trump campaign’s new strategy seems to be reaching out to Republican-controlled legislatures in swings states won by Biden to set aside the results and declare Trump the winner, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the plan.

The effort is being piloted in Michigan and Pennsylvania for now, but even if Trump was to be declared the winner in both those states, he would still be short of the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the election.

Georgia secretary of state slams politicians over unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has lambasted the US politicians over misleading people via unsubstantiated allegations about systemic voter fraud.

On Friday, a group of Black voters in Detroit, Michigan, and a voting rights organization filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that the effort by Trump and members of his campaign was a contravention of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

“To effectuate this strategy, Defendants are openly seeking to disenfranchise Black voters, including voters in Detroit, Michigan,” said the lawsuit.

African Americans account for more than 78 percent of Detroit residents according to US census data.

Senior Republicans have remained largely silent about Trump’s claims of election fraud.

Biden, who has denounced Trump’s refusal to concede as “totally irresponsible,” was expected to spend Saturday meeting with his transition advisers.

The General Services Administration, run by a Trump appointee, has yet to certify Biden’s victory, preventing his team from receiving classified intelligence briefings.  

The delay has many worried about potential implications for national security and the fight against the coronavirus, which has killed more than 250,000 Americans.

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