AG Nessel announces 7 people charged with felony election law violations

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According to Nessel, in the August 2024 Michigan Primary Election, four residents of St. Clair Shores voted twice. Those four, along with three municipal election employees are being criminally charged for crimes related to double voting.“One person, one vote. It’s a simple but highly important American value that we’ve all known since we were children,” Nessel said. “When people violate this principle, they violate state law and undermine the most basic tenets of our American democracy.”Frank Prezzato, 68, Stacy Kramer, 56, Douglas Kempkins, Jr., 44, and Geneva O’Day, 62, all of St. Clair Shores, each face one count of Voting Absentee and In-Person, a maximum penalty 5-year felony, and one count of Offering to Vote More than Once, a maximum penalty 4-year felony. Assistant Clerks Patricia Guciardo, 73, and Emily McClintock, 42, are each charged with one count of Falsifying Election Returns or Records, a maximum penalty 5-year felony, one count of Voting Absentee and in Person, and one count of Offering to Vote more than Once. Assistant Clerk Molly Brasure, 31, faces two counts of Falsifying Election Returns or Records and two counts each of Voting Absentee and in Person, and Offering to Vote more than Once.The four residents voted once by absentee ballot, and again on election day, in person, at their local polling location.Nessel said the three election workers violated the law by ignoring systemic warnings and knowingly and willfully allowed double voting to occur. She noted the municipal employees being charged are not volunteer workers, but municipal employees trained in election law and procedure with delegated authority by the elected municipal clerk.“The actions of these three trained assistant clerks broke from established election rules so significantly that they committed a crime,” Nessel said.She noted that previous reporting falsely claimed the illegal votes were not counted in unofficial election results, but said that was simply not true.“These double votes were, in fact, counted during the August 2024 Primary but fortunately they did not affect the outcome of those results or of any of the races.”Nessel said that following the election, Abby Barrett the St. Clair Shores clerk correctly reported the four instances of double voting to Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, St. Clair Shores police, and the State Bureau of Elections.“Despite common talking points by those who seek to instil doubt in our electoral process, double voting in Michigan is extremely rare,” Nessel noted. “Michigan has over 4,300 voting precincts and more than 1.8 million Michigan residents voted in the August Primary. In that Primary, there were 59 reported instances of double voting in Michigan, accounting for less than 0.005% of the total votes.”Nessel continued, saying the fact that four incidents occurred in a single municipality of this size raises significant concerns, calling it shocking and simply unheard of.“There are procedures in place to ensure that this does not happen, which is why it so rarely does,” Nessel said. “It really took a ‘perfect storm’ to come together and allow these individuals to double vote, which included voters who were willing to vote twice, the completion of affidavits that were false, poll workers who did not turn them away as they should have, and municipal clerks who illegally altered the qualified voter file.”According to Nessel, the four individuals appeared in person at their respective polling locations in St. Clair Shores, requesting ballots to vote in the August Primary Election. Her office alleges that upon arrival, they were informed by their local poll volunteers that they had previously completed and returned their absentee ballots, and yet, due to the failure of the city employees, were still allowed to vote in person that day.In each instance, across three separate precincts, the volunteer election workers on-site saw the warnings on the electronic record of voter information assessed by poll workers at election sites that indicated the voter had already voted by absentee ballot, and that their ballot had been received and approved for tabulation by the local clerk.“The absentee ballots were being contemporaneously counted already by designees of the city clerk at a separate location, demonstrating the proper functioning of checks and balances in our election system,” Nessel said. “However, despite clear and very obvious warnings, the election workers on site contacted a designated municipal call-in center seeking direction from the assisting clerks and were instructed to issue the would-be voters a second ballot and override and ignore the very clear warning displayed.”The voters completed those ballots, fed into the tabulator, and their votes were counted in the in-person Election Day vote totals. Three of the four voters wrongly completed an affidavit where they falsely claimed they had not previously voted in the election. Under Michigan State Law, an individual who votes in an election both in person and by means of an absent voter ballot, or an individual who simply attempts to vote both in person and by absent voter ballot, is guilty of a felony.While Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido announced in August that his office would not be filing criminal charges, the Department of Attorney General’s investigation produced probable cause to file charges. The investigation included:Reviewing voting records, police reports from the St. Clair Shores police department, and a report from the Michigan Department of State Enforcement Division;Interviewing elections inspectors for these precincts, the now-charged St. Clair Shores assistant clerks, the St. Clair Shores city clerk, and Michigan’s Director of Elections; andAnalyzing the Qualified Voter File for timestamped changes.“My office has been committed to pursuing, investigating and, when necessary, charging, cases of election fraud, and have done so when the evidence provides for criminal charges,” said Nessel. “Election integrity matters, and we must take these violations seriously in order to ensure we can trust the results on the other end.”Voting more than once is illegal. Anyone who tries to vote multiple times in an election will get caught and they will be charged. We will watch closely to see how the facts bear out in this case. But anyone who thinks they can get away with voting fraud in Michigan should know we will not tolerate any attempt to interfere in our elections. I am grateful for the bipartisan, professional election administrators all across Michigan who work hard daily to ensure we count every valid vote, and only valid votes. Our team will continue to work alongside them to prepare for November.Secretary of State Jocelyn BensonBoth Nessel and Benson note that voters can track their absentee ballots at mi.gov/vote and can see sample ballots, the date your absentee ballot was requested, mailed, received, and approved for tabulation, along with in-person voting locations for both early and Election Day voting.Subscribe to our News 10 newsletter and YouTube page to receive the latest local news and weather. Looking to hire people, or grow your business through advertising? Gray Digital Media is your one-stop marketing solution. Learn more.Copyright 2024 WILX. All rights reserved.
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Now investigate the Macomb County prosecutor Pete Lucido.