Michigan election officials have certified Democrat Joe Biden's 154,000-vote victory in the state amid President Donald Trump's brazen attempts to subvert the results of the election.
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The Board of State Canvassers, which has two Republicans and two Democrats, on Monday confirmed the results on a 3-0 vote with one abstention.
Allies of Trump and losing GOP Senate candidate John James had urged the panel to delay voting for two weeks to audit votes in heavily Democratic Wayne County, home to Detroit.
The move is another setback in Trump's efforts to use unconventional means to undermine the results of the November 3 election and comes even after he made direct overtures to Republican officials in the state by inviting them to the White House last week.
Under Michigan law, Biden claims all 16 electoral votes. Biden won by 2.8 percentage points - a larger margin than in other states where Trump is contesting the results such as Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
Trump's efforts to stave off the inevitable - formal recognition of his defeat - face increasingly stiff resistance from the courts and fellow Republicans with just three weeks to go until the electoral college meets to certify Biden's victory.
Time and again, Trump's challenges and baseless allegations of widespread conspiracy and fraud have been met with rejection as states move forward with confirming their results.
Australian Associated Press
