FACT CHECK: Did Michigan Recently Authorize A ‘Full Forensic Audit’ Of The 2020 Election Results?

An image shared on Facebook claims Michigan recently authorized a “full forensic audit” of the 2020 presidential election results.

Verdict: False

There is no evidence Michigan recently authorized a “full forensic audit” of its 2020 election results. A spokesperson for the Michigan Secretary of State refuted the claim.

Fact Check:

The screen grabbed May 10 tweet reads, “BREAKING: Michigan has authorized a full forensic audit of the 2020 Presidential Election.” Similar claims about the state requesting a “full forensic audit” have also circulated on Facebook.

However, Check Your Fact didn’t find any evidence such as Michigan Department of State press releases or major news outlet reporting to corroborate the post’s claim. The Michigan Department of State has not announced the recent authorization of a “full forensic audit” of the state’s 2020 presidential election results in any documents on its website.

“This is factually incorrect,” Tracy Wimmer, the director of media relations for the Michigan secretary of state’s office, told Check Your Fact via email. “No new audits are planned. We conducted more than 250 around the state and those were completed months ago.” (RELATED: Viral Image Claims Michigan ‘Magically Found’ Over 130,000 Votes Cast For Joe Biden)

Wimmer also directed Check Your Fact to a March 2 press release that said the state’s election audits “confirmed the integrity and accuracy of the 2020 general election.” An April 21 report from Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson also said that post-election audits found “no examples of fraud or intentional misconduct by election officials” and “no evidence that equipment used to tabulate or report election results did not function properly when properly programmed and tested.”

The inaccurate claim has circulated amid a lawsuit that, according to the Traverse City Record-Eagle, seeks to challenge the certified election results in Michigan’s Antrim County. During the 2020 election, human error temporarily caused unofficial results to show President Joe Biden in the lead before being corrected by the county clerk, according to the Associated Press.

The judge presiding over the Antrim County lawsuit is expected to make a decision about whether to dismiss the suit this month, according to 9&10 News. The judge also granted a motion by the Michigan Secretary of State and Antrim County to void subpoenas aimed at conducting a forensic review of Antrim County’s election equipment and ballots, per the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Michigan media outlets have not reported on the state recently authorizing a “full forensic audit” of the state’s November election results. While Antrim County Commissioner Dawn LaVanway motioned earlier this year to hire a firm to conduct a forensic audit of the county’s 2020 election results, the motion was tabled, according to the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

During the 2020 election, Biden received some 2.8 million votes across Michigan, winning the state by over 150,000 votes, according to official state election results.

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