LANSING — Republicans gathered in the Senate chamber Tuesday and officially cast Michigan’s 15 electoral votes for President-elect Donald Trump.
Pete Hoekstra, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, speaks during the Electoral College ceremony in the Michigan Senate on Tuesday as Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (left) and new House Speaker Matt Hall look on .
It was a less controversial ceremony than in 2020, when pro-Trump protesters gathered outside the Capitol and made false claims of election fraud as Democratic voters cast Michigan’s then-16 primary elections for President Joe Biden. That day, a group of Republicans calling themselves Trump voters attempted to enter the Capitol, which was restricted at the time due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and were turned away by Michigan State Police.
Tuesday’s GOP speakers didn’t talk about that. But they did remember what happened in 2016, when dozens of anti-Trump activists demonstrated outside the Capitol and urged his voters not to cast their votes for him. Voters “stood up to them” and “voted the right way,” said Republican Tom Barrett, a former senator recently elected to Congress in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. But on Tuesday it was “a calm, peaceful process,” Barrett said.
Voters gathered Tuesday to cast their electoral votes at Capitols across the country; not just in Michigan.
Trump voter Darlene Hennessy, who represents Michigan’s 12th Congressional District, signs one of the certificates of election during a Tuesday ceremony in the Michigan Senate Chamber.
The ceremony itself lasted less than 40 minutes, but then it took well over an hour for each of the voters to sign 100 election certificates and 100 envelopes, as required by Michigan election law.
One voter, John Haggard of the 1st Congressional District, wore a bright red MAGA hat. Another, Timothy King of the 6th Congressional District, wore a wig and tri-color hat, explaining afterward that he traces his family tree back to George Washington and Samuel Adams. Another voter, Hank Choate of the 5th Congressional District, did a brief dance in the Senate aisle after introducing a motion. And such was the enthusiasm of Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, who was presiding over the proceedings, that at one point he smashed the gavel while putting the proceedings in order, forcing some of it through the room flew.
Trump voter Timothy King wears a wig and tricorn hat during Tuesday’s election ceremony in the Michigan Senate.
“Enjoy this moment,” Elector Meshawn Maddock, who represents the 7th Congressional District and is running to succeed Pete Hoekstra as chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, told the gathering. “For me it is very emotional. It is an award and I am so proud to be here.”
Maddock is one of six 2024 Trump electors — along with Haggard, King, Choate, Amy Facchinello, who represents the 8th District, and Marian Sheridan, who represents the 11th Congressional District — charged in state court with felonies for going to allegedly falsely claiming to be legitimate voters in 2020.
Trump voter Meshawn Maddock
The last of the preliminary investigations for 15 “fake voters” charged by Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office was completed in October, but Ingham County 54A District Judge Kristen Simmons has not yet decided whether the cases will go to trial. should be judged. A hearing on the status of the case is scheduled for Friday morning.
Maddock said before the hearing that she expects all charges to be dismissed and that she regrets the amount of money the state spent prosecuting the case and that she and the other defendants spent defending themselves.
The signed and certified results are sent to Vice President Kamala Harris, who serves as president of the Senate. On January 6, Congress will meet in a joint session to count the Electoral College votes, overseen by Harris, making the results of the November 5 election official.
Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance will take the oath of office during the inauguration on January 20, 2025 at noon.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: GOP makes Trump’s victory in Michigan official during Electoral College ceremony
