LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — The Michigan Attorney General’s Office is charging seven people — four voters and three election workers — with violating state election laws during the 2024 primary on August 6.
During a news conference Friday, Attorney General Dana Nessel said the four residents voted in-person and absentee and three workers falsified election records.
“Despite common talking points by those who seek to instill doubt in our electoral process, double voting in Michigan is extremely rare. There are procedures in place to ensure this does not happen and that is why it so rarely does. It took a confluence of events and decisions to allow these four people to double vote,” Nessel said. “Nevertheless, the fact that four incidents occurred in a municipality of this size raised significant concerns and is simply unheard of.”
State law says any election official aware of people possibly voting both in person and absentee ballot must report the issue to their respective county prosecutor’s office and Michigan Secretary of State.
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.
Nessel said the voters showed up in person at their St. Clair Shores polling location and asked for and received ballots. The local poll volunteers told the accused voters their absentee ballots had already been received.
Even with electronic warnings advising workers these people had already voted, Nessel said “the election workers were allegedly instructed by Guciardo, McClintock, and Brasure to override the system warnings and issue in-person ballots.”
“The assistant clerks are accused of illegally altering the State Qualified Voter File to designate the previously issued, voted, and returned absentee ballots as rejected, rather than received, without making any effort to ensure the corresponding ballot was rejected from the absentee voter counting board,” Nessel wrote. “As a result, the absentee ballots were counted on Election Day.”
“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,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in a news release. “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.”
