"All 16 electors that we've been advised by the governor's staff that were going to be here to vote in the Electoral College have been checked in and are already here," the officer told a group of Republican electors while blocking their entry.
However, the group maintained that they were not trying to disrupt the electoral process and instead were there as "alternate electors" looking to cast their own votes in a constitutional manner.
GOP electors seeking to submit alternate votes
Meshawn Maddock, co-founder of Michigan Trump Republicans and wife of State Rep. Matt Maddock, was among the group who attempted to enter the Capitol. Maddock, an elector herself, said that they were not trying to "replace" Democrat electors and were there "just to be safe" amidst allegations of election fraud.
"Sending more than one slate of electors is not unheard of," said Maddock in a statement. "It is our duty to the people of Michigan and to the U.S. Constitution to send another slate of electors if the election is in controversy or dispute, and clearly it is."
But barring the Republican electors from entering the Capitol effectively stopped them "from fulfilling their constitutional duty," according to Ian Northon, an attorney with the Thomas More Foundation's Amistad Project, an election integrity watchdog.
In the November general elections, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden allegedly won Michigan by over 154,000 votes, which meant Democratic electors would be representing the state in the Electoral College. However, the losing party could still cast their own electoral votes, as Republican electors in the swing states of Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Nevada had done on Monday.
If governors or legislators have certified their votes, the states will have "dueling" or "alternate" electors. The House of Representatives and Senate will decide in January next year which set of electors to certify. If the chambers split, it will be up to Vice President Mike Pence, the president of the Senate, to make the tiebreaker vote. (Related: The case for Trump to invoke Insurrection Act to restore election integrity.)
The situation happened before in 1876 when two sets of electors in many states submitted votes. Republican nominee Rutherford Hayes was ultimately declared the winner by one electoral vote after both parties reached an agreement that saw Hayes remove federal troops from the former Confederacy.
White House senior adviser Stephen Miller said that having alternate electors can compel other states to file objections and ultimately lead to President Donald Trump's reelection.
"The only date in the Constitution is Jan. 20 (Inauguration Day). So we have more than enough time to right the wrong of this fraudulent election result and certify Donald Trump as the winner of the election," Miller said on Fox & Friends.
Elections tech had a 68% percent error rate
The push for alternate electors comes as a report on Michigan's tabulation anomalies was released for the first time on Monday. Prepared by Dallas-based firm Allied Security Operations Group (ASOG), the report indicates that the Dominion Voting Systems, the election technology used in Michigan and other states, had an "error rate" of 68 percent.
ASOG, which is working with Trump lawyers on election fraud cases, conducted a forensic analysis of the tabulators and data in Antrim County. Biden initially won the county on election night, but officials later found there were tabulation errors. After the issue was fixed, Trump was declared the winner the following day.
"This is a result of machine and/or software error, not human error," wrote report author Russell James Ramsland, Jr., who is part of ASOG's management team. (Related: Skeptical of voter fraud in 2020? Here's your evidence.)
Though it's still unclear how the firm reached its findings, Trump tweeted that the report is evidence of "massive fraud." The report was previously under protected order until a Michigan judge allowed it to be released publicly after state and county officials withdrew their objections.
Read the latest developments on the 2020 elections at VoteFraud.news.
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