Michigan GOP moving on from vote fraud lies, but won’t apologize for them

“Without accountability, not only will situations like (Jan. 6) continue to happen, but they will escalate,” said Rep. Kyra Bolden, D-Southfield. 

Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, did just that earlier this month, taking it one step further and apologizing to Black voters for casting doubt on predominantly Black communities like Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Detroit.

Bridge attempted to reach several Republicans to ask whether lawmakers should be held accountable for endorsing fraud claims. Several didn’t respond, including Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake, and Reps. Matt Hall, R-Marshall and Beau LaFave, R-Iron Mountain, who served as members of the Oversight Committee that heard testimony about election fraud allegations. 

Former GOP Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop told Bridge Michigan it was a “tough position” for lawmakers to decide whether to raise the concerns about the election. 

“I know that members take their oath very seriously, and I can only assume that they saw evidence that would suggest that they needed to look into (the allegations,)” said Bishop, who also served in Congress.  

‘The absolute right thing’

Several public officials who alleged election irregularities told Bridge Michigan they have no regrets.  

Norm Shinkle, a Republican member of the Board of State Canvassers who abstained from a vote to certify the state’s election results, said he did the “absolute right thing” in attempting to delay the certification because Wayne County Canvassers were “tricked into certifying” the results.

William Hartmann, a Republican member of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, who initially voted not to certify the county’s results and then attempted to rescind his vote the next day after making the results official, said his decision played no role in fueling the allegations of fraud that led to the riots in Washington, D.C.

“I don’t know how (they’re linked,)” he said. “That seems separate.” 

Those who have asked the GOP to hold lawmakers accountable said they have been unsuccessful so far. In a letter written a day after the siege of the U.S. Capitol, House Democratic Leader Donna Lasinski asked Wentworth, the GOP House speaker, to sanction and not seat 18 Michigan lawmakers who participated in efforts to overturn the election. 

Wentworth has given the majority of the lawmakers multiple committee positions for this term. 

In fact, if anything, Republicans are likely to respond to claims of voter fraud by imposing more burdens to vote, predicted Senate Minority Leader Jim Aninach, D-Flint.

“I would bet almost anything that within this next year, the (GOP) will be magically rolling out bills to make it more difficult for people to vote that there’s no basis for,” he said. 

Among other things, Republicans raised objections to efforts to make it easier to vote absentee, boxes to hold absentee ballots and same-day registration.

Further complicating efforts to hold officeholders accountable is the fact that it’s not illegal to believe the election was rigged, said Javed Ali, a former federal defense intelligence official now serving as a policymaker in residence at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy.

Nationwide, the First Amendment offers protections for free speech and association, said Barb McQuade, a University of Michigan Law professor who served as U.S. Attorney under Democratic President Barack Obama. 

“You’re allowed to say hateful things,” she said. “You’re allowed to associate with people who say and think hateful things.” 

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