A10 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22 , 2020
BY BETH REINHARD,
ALICE CRITES
AND DALTON BENNETTNorman Shinkle, a member of
the Michigan canvassing board
tasked with certifying the state’s
2020 election results, says he is
approaching the process the same
way he approached his duties as
chief judge of the state tax tribu-
nal. “You weigh both sides and
make a decision. I am not going to
do anything different in this case,”
said Shinkle, a Republican. “My
goal is to be able to look myself in
the mirror the next day and know
that I did the right thing.”
But the case the canvassing
board will take up Monday is very,
very different. No big-box retailer
seeking a lower property tax bill
has ever been cast as threatening
the fate of the republic. Many
constitutional experts and ordi-
nary voters see President Trump
as imperiling democracy by refus-
ing to accept his resounding de-
feat in Michigan and concede the
election.
Shinkle’s willingness to consid-
er widely discredited voting fraud
claims — along with his wife’s r ole
as a witness in one of T rump’s
lawsuits — has drawn scrutiny to
an obscure panel that typically
rubber-stamps election results.
Though its members are parti-
sans appointed by the governor,
the board — composed of two
Democrats and two Republicans
— h as always voted unanimously
to certify statewide elections.
The possibility that it might not
do so this time took on urgency in
recent days after Republicans on
the canvassing board for predom-
inantly Democratic Wayne Coun-
ty briefly blocked certification
there. The moment underscored
how relatively unknown officials
might seek to alter the outcome of
an election that handed Demo-
crat Joe Biden a clear victory.
“This time, we need a bunch of
boring accountants with green
eyeshades, but that’s not the way
it works, so we’re stuck with this,”
said Jeffrey Timmer, a former Re-
publican member of the state-
wide board and an adviser to the
anti-Trump Lincoln Project. “It’s a
goofy system designed for dead-
lock.”
If the Board of Canvassers
deadlocks o n the decision to certi-
fy Michigan’s results Monday,
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) could
seek to replace some of its mem-
bers — an action that experts
believe could be legally compli-
cated — or obtain a court order
requiring the board to certify.
On Saturday, citing what it said
were “procedural and accounting
irregularities,” the Republican
National Committee and the state
Republican Party asked the state-
wide board to adjourn for two
weeks rather than certify the re-
sult, allowing time for an audit of
Wayne County results. County of-
ficials have said the number of
errors is small, affecting maybe
450 ballots. In Michigan, Biden’s
margin of victory is more than
150,000 votes.
Shinkle, 70, the Republican
chairman of his congressional
district and a former state sena-
tor, said Thursday in an interview
with The Washington Post that he
was leaning toward requesting a
delay in certifying the election to
allow for an audit. One concern he
cited is a debunked conspiracy
theory circulated by Trump’s at-
torneys that Dominion Voting
Systems machines deleted thou-
sands of Trump votes.
“I take one step at a time, and if
we can get more information, why
not?” asked Shinkle, who said he
did not know whether the allega-
tions about Dominion were true.
Shinkle said he views his re-
sponsibility on the canvassing
board as not merely certifying the
election but also getting to the
bottom of any alleged impropri-
eties. He said he hoped an audit
would build confidence in the
election, though he emphasized
he might change his mind before
Monday’s hearing.
Several experts on Michigan
election law said the board’s role
is generally regarded as far more
limited. Chris Thomas, who
served as Michigan’s elections di-
rector from 1981 to 2017, said he
could recall no previous request
for an audit and no vote against
certifying election results.“It’s not a heavy lift in the sense
that they get certified results from
the counties and the staff adds
them up and puts them in a
spreadsheet,” Thomas said. “They
are basically ministerial duties.”
“I’m sure they will certify — at
some point,” he added. “I think
they are well-intentioned people
who are not going to play politics.
Norm will get his say and ask the
tough questions but on the whole,
in my view, he’s always done what
he’s been required to do by law.”
Shinkle did not return calls
Friday or Saturday seeking addi-
tional comment.
The other Republican on the
board, 40-year-old Aaron Van
Langevelde, is a former county
prosecutor who works as a policy
adviser and deputy legal counsel
to the Republican leadership of
the Michigan House of Represen-
tatives.
Those leaders were invited by
Trump to the White House on
Friday. They said after the meet-
ing that they had seen no evi-dence to warrant changing the
outcome in their state.
“He’s a solid guy and a very
good lawyer,” Colleen Pero, a Re-
publican who preceded him on
the board, said of Van Langevelde.
Van Langevelde, who has
served on the board for two years,
did not respond to requests for
comment and has not spoken
publicly about Monday’s vote.
Shinkle has drawn particular
attention because his wife, Mary,
was among the witnesses whose
accounts were cited in a Trump
campaign lawsuit challenging the
election results.
In an affidavit, she alleged that
while working as a poll challenger
in Detroit she saw election work-
ers scanning too many ballots at
once and envelopes containing
mail ballots left unattended in
unsealed containers. She objected
to being asked to step back from a
table where election workers
were duplicating damaged bal-
lots, though she said she could
still observe the process. She alsosaid election workers were “rude
and aggressive” when challenged
about their decisions.
The lawsuit has since been
dropped.
Shinkle has said his wife saw “a
lot of strange things going on” but
that he had not seen evidence to
back up Trump’s claim that he
won Michigan.
He told The Post that people
should not assume he is swayed
by his wife’s role.
“That’s almost an accusation
against marriage,” he said. “My
wife can do whatever she wants to
do.”
The two Democrats on the
board, Jeannette Bradshaw and
Julie Matuzak, praised their Re-
publican colleagues.
“They’ve always been profes-
sional and I respect them,” said
Bradshaw, who chairs the board.
Bradshaw is the recording sec-
retary for the International
Brotherhood of Electrical Work-
ers Local 58 and the former vice
president of the Metro Detroit
AFL-CIO. She appeared in a digi-
tal ad that criticized Trump’s han-
dling of the coronavirus pandem-
ic and moderated an online dis-
cussion for the Biden campaign
on child care.
Matuzak was narrowly elected
this year as a Macomb County
commissioner.
“We on the canvassing board
aren’t allowed to have opinions
when it comes to certifying elec-
tions,” Matuzak said. “I have certi-
fied elections for people I didn’t
like and petitions I thought were
wrong, but we do our jobs.”
A former political director for
the American Federation of
Teachers in Michigan, she has
criticized the Trump campaign’s
claims about voting fraud in the
predominantly Black city of De-
troit and surrounding Wayne
County as “frankly, racist.”
“If you look at what happened
at the Wayne County canvassing
board and what happened in pre-
dominantly White communities,
there were the same issues and
same problems but no one was
talking about auditing those re-
sults,” she said. “Every election
has human error, small errors,
affecting a few votes.”
Shinkle said he would consult
with local officials about the vote
in Detroit, including Thomas, theformer elections director.
Thomas told The Post he had
no doubt that the vote in Detroit
was accurate, noting that Trump
won even more votes in the city in
2020 than he did in 2016, “and
nobody complained about it
then.”
Since the election, Shinkle said
his phone has been ringing con-
stantly as fellow Republicans
urge him not to certify the vote.
“Every time someone calls they
tell me about a new problem,” he
said. “Everybody is giving me
their best argument — not that I
am doing a poll,” he added.
On Friday, one leading con-
servative voice that may have his
ear called the election “over.”
Shinkle serves as an adviser to the
Michigan Freedom Fund, a con-
servative advocacy group, which
on Friday declared on its website,
“The results are in, and here in
Michigan, they’re not going to
change.”
Timmer, who served on the
canvassing board with Shinkle,
said: “I’ve known him to be a good
and loyal American first and a
Republican second.”
He recalled a contentious bat-
tle in 2012 over whether to put a
referendum on the ballot repeal-
ing the powers of emergency
managers to take over financially
struggling cities and school dis-
tricts. He and Shinkle voted
against approving the referen-
dum — opposed by GOP leaders —
arguing that the type size was too
small.
“Treason!” “Shame!” backers of
the referendum shouted as the
canvassing board deadlocked.
The state Supreme Court ordered
the matter to be put to the voters.
The board complied.
Shinkle, who seems intent on
keeping the public guessing about
his next move, recalled another
lesson from his years on the state
tax tribunal.
“Whatever brief you read first,
you agree with,” he said. “Then
the second brief comes in and you
agree with that one. It doesn’t
make sense to say you have made
up your mind before the end of
the hearing.”
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]Kayla Ruble contributed to this report.Obscure Michigan canvassing board is thrust into fracas
SALWAN GEORGES/THE WASHINGTON POST
Poll workers process and count absentee ballots in Detroit on Nov.- The Michigan canvassing board tasked with certifying the state’s
2020 election results is scheduled to vote Monday.
GOP member considers
widely discredited
v oter fraud claims“My goal is to be able to look myself in the
mirror the next day and know
that I did the right thing.”
Norman Shinkle, a Republican member of
the Michigan canvassing boardEDITIONEDITIONEDITIONEDITIONEDITIONEDITIONThursday, November 26,all Home Delivery Customers will receive our specialON THANKSGIVING DAYNot going to be home on
Thanksgiving Day?
Let us know at
washingtonpost.com/account
and we won’t deliver.N1011 3x10.SPECIAL SECTIONTECH GIFT GUIDE
As the pandemic stretches into the holiday season, everything you
need to know about buying tech gifts and toys without blowing
your fi nances.EXPANDED LOCAL LIVING SECTIONHOME GIFT GUIDE
Practical, attractive ideas for loved ones spending more time at
home.WELLNESS GIFT GUIDE
Considerate ideas to help ease anxiety, increase comfort and even
offer a bit of pampering.Plus, get the early scoop on Black Friday deals in a huge Post Marketplace
package of inserts.All home delivery subscribers (both 7-day and Sunday-only) will be charged the
Sunday home delivery rate for this special issue.4 'X 5 '^6 " SALE$ 199 6 '^7 "X 9 '^6 " SALE$ 499
6 'X 9 'Oval SALE$499 8'X 11 ' SALE$ 659
8 'Round SALE$499 9'X 13 ' SALE$ 949
*Stair Runner SALE$ 20 /ft * 12 'X 15 ' SALE$ 15992 'X 4 ' SALE$79 5'X 7 '^6 " SALE$ 299
4 'X 5 '^6 " SALE$199 6'^7 " X 9 '^6 " SALE$ 499
2 '^3 "X 12 ' SALE$399 8'Square SALE$ 649
Stair Runner SALE $20/ft. 8 'X 11 ' SALE$ 659Our Terra Cotta rug collection offers amodern
design that incorporatesvividearth-tone colors
that will liven up your room...or staircase!SALE
$
299
Size 5’x7’^6 "Reg.$ 5792 'X 4 ' SALE$79 6'^7 " X 9 '^6 " SALE$ 499
4 'X 5 '^6 " SALE$199 8'Square SALE$ 659
Stair Runner SALE $20/ft. 8 'X 11 ' SALE$ 679Our Dunesrug collection offersachic design
that incorporatessoft shades of grey and taupe.
Available as both an area rug and as stair runner.SALE
$
329
Size 5’x7’^6 "Reg.$ 599Spectacular Savingsof40%-60% on1000’sofIn-StockRugs from 2’x 3 ’to12’x 18 ’
STOREWIDE RUG SALE2 '^6 " X 4 '^5 " SALE$39 5'X 7 '^6 " SALE$ 129
3 '^2 " X 5 '^7 " SALE$59 8'X 10 ' SALE$ 249
2 '^6 "X 7 '^9 " SALE$69 10'X 13 ' SALE$ 399Our Transitional rug collection has fashionable
earth-tonecolors that allow for easy decorating.
Theserugsdeliver a casuallookat a great value.SALE
$
129
Size 5’x7’^6 " Reg.$ 259Our Peshawar collection is handknotted
in 100% wool with an ultra-softfeel and
a rich,silkysheen. An instantheirloom.SALE
$
8 99
Size 5’x8’ Reg.$^1799
2 '^6 " X 10 ' SALE$599 8'X 10 ' SALE$ 1799
2 '^6 " X 15 ' SALE$1199 9'X 12 ' SALE$ 2399
2 '^6 " X 20 ' SALE$1499 10'X 14 ' SALE$ 2999Our Garden rug collection features floral
designswith bright,uplifting colors.*Some
designsavailable in stair runnerand12x15size.SALE
$
299
Size 5’^3 "x7’^6 " Reg.$ 599Visit our 1 8, 000 sq.ft.rug showroom with over 2,000 rugs
in-stock year round.It’s the area’s largest all-rug showroom!5928 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church,VA 22041
703 -931- 0900 http://www.BakersfieldRugs.com
Hours: Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues:12:00pm-6:00pm*Weds/Thur:By Appt.