MI-HD44: Lawsuit temporarily halts ballot retabulation in disputed Michigan House race

The retabulation of votes continued Wednesday in Calhoun County after a lawsuit briefly delayed the process that will determine the winner of a key state House seat.

At issue is the race for the 44th state House District in which incumbent state Rep. Jim Haadsma (D-Battle Creek) faced off against Republican challenger Calhoun County Commissioner Steve Frisbie.

Frisbie filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Calhoun County Circuit Court seeking to stop the retabulation of absentee ballots in Battle Creek. The Calhoun County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to retabulate those ballots after an error resulted in approximately 2,800 absentee ballots being overridden and not counted.

Haadsma called the lawsuit an attempt to stop the accurate counting of ballots “potentially disenfranchising thousands of voters” in Battle Creek.

“I want to see every vote accurately counted, regardless of whether it impacts the results of the election,” said Haadsma. “Confidence in our elections is essential to the health of our democracy, and the people of Battle Creek deserve to know that every effort was made to ensure the accurate tabulation of their votes.”



https://michiganadvance.com/briefs/lawsuit-temporarily-halts-ballot-retabulation-in-disputed-michigan-house-race/