Case tied to Trump-Biden race in small county is dismissed

BELLAIRE (AP) - A judge dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday against a northern Michigan county whose brief mix-up of election results led to claims of fraud and other mischief.

Judge Kevin Elsenheimer said there was nothing left to give to local voter William Bailey, especially after he allowed a forensic exam of election equipment in Antrim County.

The judge noted that an audit was performed along with a hand recount of results in the Nov. 3 presidential race.

"To be clear, that audit is not what the plaintiff would have liked," Elsenheimer said. "However it did occur, and it appears to have been done so pursuant to authority set forth."

The Republican county in the northern Lower Peninsula has been under scrutiny since initial results showed a local victory for Joe Biden. It was attributed to human error, not any problems with voting machines, and corrected.

Donald Trump won Antrim County but lost Michigan by 154,000 votes.

Elsenheimer's decision "should be the nail in the coffin for any remaining conspiracy theories surrounding the outcome of the Nov. 3 general election," Attorney General Dana Nessel said.