he Detroit Free Press reported that the Michigan state legislature held a joint hearing of the House and Senate Oversight committees on Saturday. State lawmakers “issued a subpoena to state election officials…requesting documents related to Michigan’s election process.” They will be investigating “possible election irregularities.”
The article indicated that it is rare for the legislature to call a hearing on a Saturday and equally rare for a legislative committee to issue a subpoena.
Although the Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is a Democrat, both the state House and the state Senate are controlled by Republicans, a point the author emphasizes several times.
Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Levering) issued a statement after the hearing had been announced on Friday. It read:
Every single legal vote needs to be counted, regardless of who cast it or who they voted for. And then the candidate who wins the most of those votes will win Michigan’s electoral votes, just like it always has been. Nothing about that process will change in 2020.
America’s democracy is sacred, and safe and secure elections are how we protect it. That is why the House and Senate oversight committees will begin hearings soon looking into the voting and counting process in our state to give everyone confidence in the results and to make sure the next election runs much more smoothly. The people of Michigan deserve peace of mind, and we are going to provide it.
State Rep. Matt Hall, (R-Marshall), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, told the Free Press these steps are necessary “to provide needed clarity to concerned residents.” Hall said, “I have gotten hundreds of calls and emails from people in Calhoun and Kalamazoo counties who say