Anti-Vaccine Trump Supporter Who Refused To Certify Biden's Win Dies Of COVID-19

An anti-vaxxer and supporter of former President Donald Trump died of COVID-19 on Nov. 30, the Michigan Republic Party said.

William Hartmann was a Republican member of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers and was one of the two election officers who refused to certify President Joe Biden’s win in Wayne County during the 2020 presidential election.

The Michigan Republican party first received word of Hartmann’s death Tuesday. He died at the age of 63.

In a Facebook post on Nov. 13, former state Sen. Patrick Colbeck said Hartmann was admitted to an intensive care unit with COVID-19.

“Please pray for Wayne County Canvasser Bill Hartman. He is in ICU with COVID,” Colbeck wrote.

On Nov. 17, Elizabeth Hartmann, his sister, said the Republican election official had been on a ventilator for nearly a week after developing pneumonia.

"Friends and family please pray for our brother William Hartmann," she posted, as quoted by The Detroit News. "He is in ICU with COVID pneumonia and currently on a ventilator. All the positive thoughts and prayers are very much appreciated."

William Hartmann, who had been a vocal critic of the COVID-19 vaccine, gained national attention in November 2020 after he and fellow Republican Wayne County Canvasser Monica Palmer initially refused to certify the election results in their county where Biden won 68% of the votes, compared to Trump’s 31%.

The two election officials said there were small discrepancies between the number of votes from some precincts and the number of people that officials in the precincts recorded as having voted. While the recording discrepancies involved a few hundred votes, it had no effect on the outcome as Biden won the county by more than 330,000 votes, according to The New York Times.

Civil rights activists and Michigan voters accused Hartmann and Palmer of attempting to overturn the election. They later certified the results and approved the tallies, but argued they were bullied into doing so.

The Board of State Canvassers went on to certify the election results in Michigan where Biden won 16 electoral votes and 50.6% of the votes.