Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is prosecuting four individuals who it is alleged voted twice in the August primary as well as three election workers in St. Clair Shores.
Nessel announced the charges at a Friday morning press conference held in Detroit.
The four face felony charges for allegedly voting twice in the 2024 August Primary Election. Felony charges were also filed against three St. Clair Shores assistant clerks accused of illegally altering the State Qualified Voter File to designate the previously issued, voted, and returned absentee ballots of the four individuals as rejected, rather than received.
The case was first raised by Macomb County Clerk and Register of Deeds Tony Forlini on Aug. 15. In a Macomb Daily report, he said his office identified the issue and requested a full investigation. Supporting documents were turned over to the office of Prosecutor Peter Lucido, who announced Aug. 29 charges a criminal prosecution would not be sought.
“We evaluate cases based on facts,” said Lucido. “St. Clair Shores elections officials quickly identified the issue, preserved records for review, and reported it promptly which demonstrates that election safeguards are effective and maintain overall integrity.”
On Friday, Nessel and a team of attorneys from her office announced they were seeking charges against 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 five-year felony, and one count of offering to vote more than once, a four-year felony.
In addition, St. Clair Shores assistant clerks Patricia Guciardo, 73, and Emily McClintock, 42, are each charged with one count of falsifying election returns or records, a five-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.
“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 officials reported Prezzato, Kramer, Kempkins, and O’Day arrived at the polls on Aug. 6 where they were informed by local volunteers their absentee ballots had already been received. Election workers were allegedly instructed by Guciardo, McClintock, and Brasure to override the system warnings and issue in-person ballots. The voters cast these ballots, which were then counted alongside their absentee ballots, resulting in double votes.
While Lucido announced in late August his office would not pursue criminal charges, the Department of Attorney General’s investigation produced probable cause to file charges. According to a release from the AG office, the inquiry process 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; and
• Analyzing 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 in a release. “Election integrity matters, and we must take these violations seriously in order to ensure we can trust the results on the other end.”
The defendants have been charged in the 40th District Court in St. Clair Shores. An arraignment date has not yet been set.
Lucido acknowledged the process of state charges being filed in a statement emailed to The Macomb Daily Friday afternoon while declining to discuss his previous decision in more detail.
“I respect the Attorney General’s jurisdiction and investigatory resources. It is not unusual for the Attorney General to charge criminal cases in which a local prosecutor did not. I expect justice will be served. I have no further comment on this on-going case,” he said.
The City of St. Clair Shores issued a statement that was not attributed to any single individual Friday afternoon. It stated officials were surprised by the AG’s announcement after having been cleared by Lucido’s office.
“The City of Saint Clair Shores was surprised to learn this morning that Attorney General Dana Nessel would be pursuing charges against four residents and three part-time election workers in spite of local and county conclusions,” the release said. “It is our hope that an accurate accounting of the facts of this case are properly presented in court as we feel they will correct the public misstatements and discrepancies in AG Nessel’s press conference.”
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