Wayne County GOP canvasser William Hartmann dies from COVID-19

December 1, 2021 steven

William Hartmann left talks with Monica Palmer as the Wayne County Board of Canvassers meets to certify the election results. After what was an unprecedented 2-2 deadlock along partisan lines, with the two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers voting against certifying the county's November election results, the board unanimously voted to certify the results late Tuesday night.

William Hartmann, the Republican member of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers who made national headlines for initially refusing to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, died Tuesday following a battle with COVID-19.

Douglas Reimel, Hartmann’s friend, shared the news on Facebook, and others who knew Hartmann offered their condolences online. Hartmann was 63.

Hartmann’s fight with COVID-19 landed him in the ICU, where he was on a ventilator, according to a Facebook post from Elizabeth Hartmann, his sister. He was hospitalized at Wyandotte Hospital, according to Reimel. A spokesperson for the hospital did not immediately respond to a request for details.

Hartmann’s death comes amid the latest surge in COVID-19 in Michigan that has filled hospital beds across the state. Michigan remains the nation’s worst COVID-19 hot spot, leading the country in cases in recent weeks, according to the CDC.

It is unclear whether Hartmann was vaccinated. His Facebook page includes posts and memes downplaying the severity of the coronavirus, comparing vaccine passports to Nazi Germany and blasting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus.

In one Facebook post, Hartmann appeared to question the efficacy of the vaccine. “If the ouchie is so great, why do they have to offer bribes?” he wrote. In others, he referred to COVID-19 as the “wuflu” and suggested that Democrats were using the pandemic “to scare the public.”

Elizabeth Hartmann provided updates on her brother’s health on Facebook but stopped after she said her brother’s illness prompted harassment against her family.

“Bill is fighting for his life and why someone would want to use this time for their political vomit is disgusting and sad,” she wrote. “My brother is a kind, giving, honest, outstanding man. Anyone that knows him personally knows this to be true and more.”

Hartmann was an avid supporter of former President Donald Trump and garnered national attention when he joined Monica Palmer, the former Republican chair of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, in voting against certifying the county’s votes in the 2020 presidential election. The two later reversed course.

The unanimous vote by the bipartisan board to certify the results came after Democratic members backed a resolution in support of an audit, which helped break the deadlock along party lines. Trump lost the county by more than 330,000 votes.

The former president spoke with Hartmann and Palmer in a phone call after they certified the results. The two later signed affidavits attempting to rescind their vote, but the Board of State Canvassers ultimately certified Michigan’s statewide election results.

Hartmann’s death leaves a vacancy on the board. Under Michigan election law, the county clerk is responsible for choosing among nominees put forward by local party leaders.

Reimel told the Free Press that a memorial service will be planned for January.

Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen.

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