MARQUETTE, Mich., Dec. 11, 2020 — Yesterday, 19 Republican Michigan lawmakers officially announced that they were joining a lawsuit launched by embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in an attempt to overturn Michigan’s election results by ceding the state’s sovereignty, disenfranchising Michigan voters and undermining our democracy. Two U.P. lawmakers, Congressman Jack Bergman (R-Watersmeet) and state Rep. Greg Markkanen (R-Hancock), joined the suit in order to allow the state Legislature to usurp power from the people of Michigan and unilaterally select its own slate of presidential electors. In response, state Rep. Sara Cambensy (D-Marquette) had the following to say:

“Michigan’s Secretary of State Office, alongside our local clerks and local election poll workers, are currently performing the most in-depth post election audit ever performed in our state’s history. Any and all fraudulent findings will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, which I adamantly support,” said Cambensy. “But to have Michigan Legislators join a SCOTUS lawsuit from the Texas Attorney General that seeks to overturn and void the citizen’s popular vote of Michigan residents because they don’t like our state election laws, and they don’t like the outcome of the election, is absolutely crazy.”

Michigan residents petitioned and voted by ballot proposal to pass no-reason absentee voting in Michigan in 2018. Michigan voters passed that measure by nearly a two-thirds margin. The Secretary of State, the Michigan Republican Party and the Michigan Democratic Party all legally sent out applications — not ballots — to apply to vote by mail in the 2020 election.  There has been no evidence of mass voter fraud turned in and found to be credible by law enforcement officials, including the Federal Department of Justice, or our court system in Michigan or any other state in the nation, despite numerous false claims on social media and by President Trump himself.

“Simply put: Elected officials work for you the people — not the other way around. To have your legislators publicly support another state trying to take your vote away, and then give themselves the power to decide who won the election for you is a blatant attack on your voting rights. It’s a blatant attack on democracy. The people of this state should be outraged this power grab is happening by elected officials over unsubstantiated voter fraud claims.”

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