Republicans in key Michigan county try to rescind election certification under pressure from GOP

The two Republicans on an election board for Michigan's Wayne County want to take back their votes to certify the election results.

The pair agreed to a last-minute compromise Tuesday night after seeking an audit for the vote count in the Detroit area, where they said the results were out of balance, but they complained later they felt threatened into backing the certification, reported the Washington Post.

"I rescind my prior vote," wrote Monica Palmer, the board's chairwoman, in an affidavit. "I fully believe the Wayne County vote should not be certified."

The other GOP board member, William Hartmann, signed a similar affidavit, according to the Post.

The board's Democratic vice chairman Jonathan Kinlock said the certified results had already been sent to the secretary of state, so he said it was too late for the Republicans to change their minds.

"Do they understand how they are making us look as a body?" Kinloch said. "We have such an amazing and important role in the democratic process, and they're turning it on its head."

Palmer and Hartmann complained in their affidavits they believed they had a firm commitment to an audit, but Palmer said she felt "misled" because Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson didn't view their resolution asking for the audit as binding.

But Kinloch said the board hadn't even formally asked for the audit, and he said the two GOP member were aware the resolution wasn't binding when they agreed to it.

He told the Post that he had been texting Palmer about the request, saying he had explained that he hand't been able to directly reach Benson's office yet.

Kinloch accused the pair of bowing to pressure from the Republican Party, the White House and Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel, who complained Palmer and Hartmann had been subjected to "mob rule."