Judge dismisses Karamo lawsuit seeking to reject tens of thousands of Detroit votes

The court's ruling is just latest embarrassing rebuke of Karamo’s baseless claims

click to enlarge Mural in New Center in Detroit encourages people to vote. - Steve Neavling
Steve Neavling
Mural in New Center in Detroit encourages people to vote.

A Wayne County Circuit Court judge on Monday rejected a lawsuit by Republican Secretary of State candidate Kristina Karamo that sought to trash tens of thousands of absentee ballots cast by Detroit voters in Tuesday’s election.

Judge Timothy M. Kenny slammed Karamo and her attorney for failing to “produce any shred of evidence.”

“While it is easy to hurl accusations of violations of law and corruption, it is another matter to come forward and produce the evidence our Constitution and laws require,” Kenny wrote in the order dismissing the case. “Plaintiffs failed, in a full day evidentiary hearing, to produce any shred of evidence.”

Karamo, an election denier who has made a plethora of false claims about election fraud, urged the court to require Detroit voters to cast their ballots in person or show an ID to vote absentee. To verify absentee ballots, election officials rely on signature verification, not photo identification.

Tens of thousands of Detroit voters have already cast absentee ballots.

In her lawsuit, Karamo cited a widely denounced propaganda film, 2000 Mules, by conservative provocateur Dinesh D’Souza, that falsely claimed widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Kenny said there was no credible evidence in the lawsuit.

“These claims are unjustified, devoid of any evidentiary basis and cannot be allowed to stand,” Kenny said.

Although Karamo claimed that election fraud was statewide, her lawsuit targeted Detroit, a predominantly Black city that overwhelmingly votes for Democrats.

The judge’s ruling is just the latest embarrassing rebuke of Karamo’s baseless conspiratorial claims.

“Plaintiffs have raised a false flag of election law violations and corruption concerning Detroit’s procedures for the November 8th election,” Kenny wrote. “This Court’s ruling takes down that flag.”

Stay connected with Detroit Metro Times. Subscribe to our newsletters, and follow us on Google News, Apple News, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, or TikTok.