Right-Wing Lie of the Day 0010

"Republican election challengers were unfairly barred from observing absentee ballot processing and counting in Detroit."

Although this Right-Wing Lie does not have a specific source, having been widely spread via Facebook and other social media networks, Donald Trump referenced it on Nov.5, 2020, saying, "Our campaign has been denied access to observe any counting in Detroit."

At one point, over 200 Republican challengers were in the room, of over 500 challengers total, well over the state limit of 134 per party (1 per party
per counting board). When officials noticed that the number had swelled past the legal limit, the decision was made to not allow anymore in until enough left to bring the number below the legal limit, on a per-party basis.

In response to Detroit election officials' attempt to follow the law, Republican challengers who were denied access began beating on the doors and windows, demanding that the election workers stop counting ballots.

It is unclear whether election officials were able to convey the reasoning behind the situation to the angry mob, or exactly how they would have gone about doing so.

It is true that many Republican challengers were denied access, but it is far from true that *all* Republican challengers were denied entry.

More info: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/nov/06/facebook-posts/over-100-repub lican-challengers-monitored-absentee/

Jeff.

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