Kris Kobach aiding Michigan official who wants to take back vote certifying election
Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is representing Monica Palmer, the Wayne County, Mich., Board of Canvassers chair who wants to rescind her certification of election results and was called by President Donald Trump.
Kobach, who has long promoted claims of voter fraud, had been relatively quiet since the election, but appears to have enlisted in Trump’s efforts to overturn the victory of President-elect Joe Biden.
On Friday afternoon, Kobach and Palmer appeared jointly on the radio show of conservative commentator Sean Hannity. He introduced Kobach as having taken Palmer’s affidavit. Kobach said in a text message that he is one of several attorneys who has assisted Palmer.
“When I was secretary of state of Kansas, I sat on the state election board,” Kobach told Hannity. “We would never have placed our signatures on the certifications of any vote totals where there was a single minute discrepancy. It would have been dishonest to do so.”
Palmer and another board member, William Hartmann, initially voted against certification Tuesday, leaving the board deadlocked at 2-2 along party lines. Palmer complained that certain Detroit precincts were out of balance, meaning that absentee ballot books did not match the number of ballots cast.
The pair reversed their votes, then later signed affidavits saying they believe the vote should not be certified, though state officials have said Palmer and Hartmann can’t take back their votes. Palmer has also said Trump called her after the Tuesday meeting.
Kobach, an attorney who previously co-chaired Trump’s disbanded election integrity commission, has kept a low profile since his August loss to Rep. Roger Marshall in the Republican U.S. Senate primary race. He is the second Kansan to lend support to efforts to overturn Biden’s election victory.
The New York Times reported Thursday that Palmer and Hartmann’s decision to reverse their support for certification was announced by ProActive Communications, which also issued a statement explaining the board members’ position from former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline.
Kline’s Kansas law license has been suspended since 2013, stemming from his investigation into Kansas abortion providers after he was elected attorney general in 2002.
The Associated Press contributed reporting
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Kris Kobach aiding Michigan official who wants to take back vote certifying election."
