COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – An audit by the Michigan Secretary of State’s Election Bureau found that six of the 22 precincts in Branch County could not be recounted in December due to what were called technical errors.
Branch County was one of 26 counties that conducted a recount of the presidential election at the request of Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
The statewide recount was stopped by a federal judge who felt Stein did not have grounds to mount the challenge.
Clerk Terry Kubasiak said the Branch County problems included broken seals on containers along with containers that were not sealed properly and cuts on ballot bags.
It wasn’t the first recount problem in Branch County. A recount in the Republican Primary for Girard Township Supervisor could not take place last September after it was discovered that the seal numbers on the bottom of two ballot containers were not recorded properly as required by state law.
The audit is calling for local clerks to do a better job of training poll workers.
The audit revealed that it was mostly human error that resulted in 23% of the Precincts in Detroit being excluded from the recount because the numbers on the outside of the box didn’t match the ballots inside.
The audit also turned up the names of 31 voters who not only voted absentee, but also showed up at the polls to vote. While the audit turned up a lot of technical problems, it found no proof of the kind of widespread voter fraud or tampering alleged by President Trump.
