Investigation
Michigan bill does not prohibit recounts based on allegations of election fraud
CLAIM: A bill signed into law this week by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer prohibits vote recounts based on election fraud allegations.
The bill, SB 603, does not prohibit such recounts, according to two state senators involved in updating the laws around recounts. It stipulates that candidates may request a recount if they have a “good-faith belief” that they would have had a “reasonable chance” to win the election if not for an “error” in the vote counting process. That means that the number of votes the petitioning candidate requests to be recounted must be greater than the difference of votes between them and the winning candidate.
THE FACTS: After Whitmer, a Democrat, signed the bill on Monday, social media users misrepresented what it will mean for the ability to obtain recounts.
“Holy Fvck! Michigan Gov. Whitmer signed bills into law that will prohibit election recounts conducted due to allegations of voter fraud,” reads one X post that had received approximately 43,000 likes and 23,500 shares as of Friday. “Democrats will stop at nothing to prevent election fraud from being exposed!”