Charges recommended for QAnon-promoting Michigan official for voting system breaches: report

Authorities in Michigan urged criminal charges for a local township official over two voting system breaches, Reuters reported Tuesday citing "previously unreported records" obtained through a public records request.

"A state police detective recommended that the Michigan attorney general consider unspecified charges amid a months-long probe into one breach related to the Republican clerk’s handling of a vote tabulator, according to a June email from the detective to state and local officials," Reuters reported. "The clerk, Stephanie Scott, oversaw voting in rural Adams Township until the state last year revoked her authority over elections. Scott has publicly embraced baseless claims that the 2020 election was rigged against former U.S. President Donald Trump and has posted online about the QAnon conspiracy theory."

Scott, who denies any wrongdoing, reportedly also gave confidential data to Benjamin Cotton. Cotton has also been subpoenaed in Georgia over a voting system breach in Coffee County.

"Scott’s actions are part of a national effort by public officials and others seeking evidence of Trump's false stolen-election claims," notes Reuters. "The allegations against Scott have parallels to the high-profile case of Tina Peters, the clerk in Mesa County, Colorado, who enjoys cult-hero status in the election-conspiracy movement and faces felony charges related to similar voting-system breachesScott’s case illustrates what some election-security experts describe as a growing insider threat from officials tasked with safeguarding American democracy."

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Scott accused the Michigan Bureau of Elections of "tyranny" after it stripped her of authority to oversee elections.

Read the full report.