Charges against two election workers from St. Clair Shores who were suspected of performing actions that gave four voters the opportunity to cast two ballots in the summer primary election were dropped by a court on Tuesday.
There wasn’t enough proof, according to Judge Joseph Oster, to put the two ladies on trial. At a press conference in October, Attorney General Dana Nessel revealed that the part-time election workers will face felony prosecution.
“There’s a difference between mistakes, overlooking, maybe even incompetence, and committing a crime,” Oster stated.
Outside of court, the two women, ages 73 and 42, gave each other hugs. Officials in other Michigan communities that depend on temporary election staff are keeping a close eye on the situation.
“We hope the dismissal of these charges is a message to other people who may volunteer to do their civic duty and work a city election that they don’t have to be afraid to do it,” Robert Ihrie, the defense attorney, said.
Following reports that four voters might have cast two ballots during the August 6 primary, the clerk’s offices in Macomb County and St. Clare Shores requested an inquiry in August.
A report from the Michigan Department of State Enforcement Division, St. Clair Shores police reports, and voting records were all examined as part of Nessel’s investigation. The state’s director of elections, the charged St. Clair Shores assistant clerks, the St. Clair Shores municipal clerk, and the elections inspectors for those precincts were also interviewed. Examining the Qualified Voter File for timestamped modifications was another aspect of the inquiry.
Three election officials and four voters were consequently charged with several offenses.
Falsifying records was one of three charges brought against two of the employees. The third-party case is still pending.
Each of the four voters risked a five-year felony for voting in person and absentee, as well as a four-year felony for offering to vote more than once. The voters are still being prosecuted.
Nessel claims that on that particular day, voters in St. Clair Shores cast absentee ballots for the primary and turned up to cast their ballots. In Michigan, it is not feasible to cancel an absentee ballot that has already been processed and then cast a ballot in person on election day.
Nessel further charged that election officials instructed other staff to distribute votes in person despite system alerts.
“With regard to the dismissals, our office is presently investigating its appellate possibilities. In a statement, spokesperson Danny Wimmer stated, “The Department of Attorney General takes cases of election fraud very seriously and will try to hold accountable all individuals criminally responsible for these instances of double voting in St. Clair Shores.”
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