Michigan secretary of state calls Trump lawsuit 'frivolous'

[BENGALURU] Michigan's secretary of state said on Wednesday that a lawsuit by US President Donald Trump seeking to halt counting of votes there was "frivolous."

CNN and NBC projected Democrat Joe Biden the winner of Michigan on Wednesday afternoon, giving him 16 electoral votes toward the 270 he needs to win the presidency as ballot counting goes on in several other key states.

With 99 per cent of votes counted, Mr Biden led Mr Trump with 50.3 per cent to 48.1 per cent of votes cast, or by nearly 120,000 votes - far more than the Republican president's margin of victory in Michigan in 2016, when he won the state by just over 10,000 votes.

Campaign officials for Mr Trump have said that they filed lawsuits in Michigan to stop the counting there and gain greater access to the tabulation process.

"I do believe its frivolous," Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said of Trump's lawsuit at an afternoon news conference, adding that all valid ballots cast in the state had been tabulated ahead of schedule.

Ms Benson said the vote counting had been "efficient, transparent, secure and methodical" and that "anyone who tells you otherwise is unhappy about the result."

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She said the state would push back hard against any efforts to dispute the result or spread disinformation.

REUTERS