vote counting

NEW: A Michigan Court of Claims judge has ruled against a challenge filed by President Donald Trump's campaign as to how absentee ballot counting was handled following Tuesday's election. Judge Cynthia Stephens said the Trump campaign failed to make its case, and that it's too late to grant the remedy requested. 

 Democratic nominee Joe Biden has unofficially been declared the winner of Michigan's 16 electoral votes. The GOP claimed state election officials had prevented a sufficient number of Republican observers to watch the process. But Judge Cynthia Stephens says the counting is over.  Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson denies that Republicans were shut out of the vote counting process. The lawsuit was filed while pro-Trump protesters were at TCF Center in Detroit where absentee ballots were being counted. There were Republican observers inside. 

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — County election offices around Indiana are gearing up to count the flood of early ballots as the final votes are being cast in this year's election. The Indiana secretary of state's office says more than 1.7 million voters had cast ballots by mail or in-person at an early voting locations as of Monday morning. More than 560,000 mail-in ballots were requested by the Oct. 22 deadline, although not all have been returned to county election offices yet.

Voting at polling precincts in Michigan begins Tuesday with some of the rules still being sorted out.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The top election official in Indianapolis is warning that thousands of mail-in ballots cast for Tuesday’s Indiana primary might go uncounted because they won’t be returned in time. Marion County Clerk Myla Eldridge has asked state officials to extend the deadline that requires mail-in ballots to arrive at county election offices by noon Tuesday. Republican members of the State Election Commission last month blocked a similar request from Democratic members.