[Flashpoint]

The likely plan Trump had to overturn the election

In Wayne County last week, the two Republicans on the county canvassing board initially withheld their votes, but ultimately agreed to certify. That makes it harder for Trump to carry out his plan here, since all the counties have now submitted certified totals, and Biden is up by roughly 150,000 votes.

But should the GOP state canvassers refuse to certify and thus deadlock the board, Michigan's Electoral College delegates would be unable to cast their votes as required on Dec. 14.

That would deny Biden Michigan's 16 Electoral College votes. If enough other states join Michigan to bring Biden's total below the 270 votes required for an Electoral College majority, it would toss the presidential election to the House of Representatives.

The House, of course, is controlled by Democrats. But that wouldn't matter in this case, because all 435 members won't get a vote.

Each state delegation will have one vote. Trump would need to win the votes of 26 state delegations to win reelection. Republicans hold a 26-22 advantage among state delegations in the incoming Congress. (Michigan's House members are split 7-7 between Republicans and Democrats, and Pennsylvania is also tied.)

That's the strategy. Here's why it won't work:

The Board of Canvassers has a constitutional duty to certify the election. This is not a matter of individual choice.

If the state board on Monday doesn't fulfill that duty, the Biden campaign and/or other interested parties will make a beeline to the state Court of Appeals in request of writ ordering the canvassers to certify the election.

(That happened in 2013 when the Wayne County Board of Canvassers refused to certify Mike Duggan's write-in votes for Detroit mayor.)

There's no conceivable scenario in which that order won't be granted by the court, given the clarity of the law and the fact that all of the counties have certified their results.