LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s attorney general announced charges Wednesday against a former township clerk and an attorney who supported attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, alleging they accessed to voting systems without authorization as part of a search for fraud.
Former Adams Township Clerk Stephanie Scott and his lawyer, Stephanie Lambertwere charged with several crimes, including unauthorized access to a computer and use of a computer to commit a crime.
“When elected officials and their proxies use their positions to promote baseless conspiracies, demonstrate blatant disregard for voter privacy, and break the law in the process, it undermines the very essence of the democratic process.” , said Attorney General Dana Nessel in a statement. “Those who engage in such reckless conduct must be held accountable for their actions. »
The charges are the latest to be brought against people in several states responsible for ensuring the security of election systems. but instead I allowed others to rape them in a futile search for evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Multiple reviews, audits, and recounts have confirmed Joe Biden’s victory against Donald Trump. Election clerks at Colorado And Georgia are among those who promoted conspiracy theories on voting machines and now face charges for allowing unauthorized access to voting systems.
Scott allegedly ignored instructions from the Michigan Secretary of State to return his municipality’s vote tabulator to a licensed seller and held the tabulator until it was seized by Michigan State Police, according to the attorney general’s statement. The statement also alleged that, at Scott’s direction, Lambert transmitted township poll book data related to the 2020 election.
Biden won Michigan by nearly 155,000 votes over then-President Trump, a result confirmed by a GOP-led state Senate investigation in 2021.
Lambert’s attorney, Daniel Hartman, said in a statement that his client did not violate the law and that she “remains steadfast in her efforts to bring transparency to the people’s election data, processes and procedures.” Attempts to reach Scott or an attorney for her were not immediately successful.
In another case, Lambert was charged with the crime of access voting equipment and, in the past, he unsuccessfully sued to overturn Trump’s defeat in Michigan.
Scott, who oversaw elections in a small conservative town, was recalled from his position in 2023.
When it came time to prepare for her township’s November 2021 election, Scott said she had issues with accuracy and considered paper ballots and a hand count before deciding to use the same system.
“Frankly, I was faced with a moral dilemma even participating in this election,” Scott said. told the Detroit News.
The state stepped in after Scott allegedly refused to allow a contractor to perform preventive maintenance and failed to perform accuracy testing, among other issues. She was excluded from office in October 2021.
The Hillsdale County Clerk’s Office discovered that a tablet containing important software and the operating system had been removed when it took custody of an election tabulator and voter assistance terminal from the township offices to prepare for a public accuracy test. It was later seized by Michigan State Police after Scott allegedly refused to return it.
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News Source : apnews.com
