Michigan Republican Senate leader doesn't expect election result to change

Lansing — The top Republican in the Michigan Senate, Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, said he doesn't expect the results of the state's presidential race to change as lawmakers examine the voting process.

Although some supporters of President Donald Trump are pushing the false claim he won the state, Shirkey, R-Clarklake, said he doesn't think the Legislature's "analysis" will change the outcome: a victory for Democrat Joe Biden.

"Elections have consequences," Shirkey said during a Tuesday interview.

Biden, the former vice president, won Michigan by more than 146,000 votes on Nov. 3. But Trump has falsely suggested that he actually was victorious in the state and elsewhere and wrongdoing led to his loss.

At one point during a Nov. 5 press conference, Trump falsely claimed he “won” Michigan. While he was ahead in the early counting of votes, there were many more ballots to be counted when he was in the lead.

The Republican president's campaign has filed multiple lawsuits in the state focusing on poll watchers' access and anecdotal claims of missteps by election officials. But they haven't identified evidence that points to the type of fraud that would call into question the statewide result.

Biden's victory was nearly 14 times the 10,704 votes Trump won Michigan by four years ago.

On Nov. 7, the GOP-controlled House and Senate oversight committees issued a subpoena to the Michigan Department of State for records related to registration information and absentee ballot applications sent to residents ahead of the election.

The committees plan to bring "accountability" to "the election and counting procedures in our state for this election and future ones," House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, has said.

"I do think we're going to find holes in our elections law, particularly this new reality of mail-in vote," Shirkey said Tuesday. "In that entire analysis, I don't expect it to change the result in Michigan."

cmauger@detroitnews.com