Michigan Republicans are seeking to remove one of their own election canvassers after he voted to certify the 2020 presidential election results for Democratic candidate Joe Biden.
Aaron Van Langevelde, a state House Republican policy adviser and deputy legal counsel, voted alongside two Democratic canvassers to validate Biden’s victory in Michigan in late November, despite pressure from President Donald Trump and other Republicans to delay the vote.
Van Langevelde’s vote was pivotal since it was decided by a four-person board.
“We have a clear legal duty to certify the results of the election, as shown by the returns that were given to us,” Van Langevelde said at the time. “We cannot and should not go beyond that. As John Adams once said, ‘We are a government of laws, not men.'”
Now, some of Van Langevelde’s GOP colleagues have proposed replacing him instead of renominating him when his term ends on Jan. 31, according to the Detroit News.
One of the potential picks, Linda Lee Tarver, played a role in the Trump campaign’s lawsuit against Michigan’s results.
“I would not certify what I could not verify,” Tarver said when asked what she would have done.
The state GOP also nominated Tony Daunt, director of the conservative Michigan Freedom Fund, and Tori Sachs, a political strategist and executive director of Michigan Rising Action.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, must choose one of the three GOP nominees by Wednesday, according to state law.
Van Langevelde said the state GOP’s decision to exclude him from the nominations does not surprise him.
“My conscience is clear, and I am confident that my decision is on the right side of the law and history,” Van Van Langevelde said on Monday.
“Time will tell that those who spread misinformation and tried to overturn the election were wrong, and they should be held responsible for the chaos and confusion they have caused,” he said.
The Michigan GOP said Van Langevelde “did not request to be reconsidered for reappointment to the state canvasing board.”
