Oralandar Brand-Williams, Votebeat Michigan

Under legislation introduced in the state House, intimidating, threatening, or harassing an election worker could be prosecuted as a criminal offense, up to a felony.

State Rep. Kara Hope, a Democrat, said at a Tuesday hearing of the Michigan House Election Committee that she introduced House Bills 4129 and 4130 to protect election workers and deter those threatening them.

“Elections cannot take place without election workers. That’s the bottom line,” Hope said. Election work is poorly paid and temporary, she said, and those who do it as a civic duty are “not willing to risk their own safety or their own peace of mind.” Hope said the legislation is timely because the state is adding in-person early voting, which will require more workers.

Under House Bill 4129, a person intimidating an election worker or preventing them from doing their job to the point that they would “feel terrorized, frightened, threatened, harassed, or molested” could be criminally charged, while House Bill 4130 would amend sentencing guidelines to make a habitual offense of intimidating or harassing an election worker a felony. If found guilty, violators could spend up to five years in prison.

Hope, who represents a district in Ingham County, said election workers are increasingly feeling unsafe and that the new law would give them an added measure of protection. The state doesn’t currently have a law specifically addressing threats against election workers.

In March, election officials testified about threats they experienced during and after the November 2020 election, including Detroit city clerk Janice Winfrey, who told lawmakers that someone shot at a staff member from her office.

Michigan is among 10 states where the risk of election disruption is high due to false allegations and “anti-voter” sentiments and activity over the past few years, according to the nonprofit, nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law.

If passed, Michigan will join 12 other states that have similar laws protecting election workers.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, testifying via Zoom at Tuesday’s hearing, said she has “experienced a lot of these threats firsthand,” including a high-profile December 2020 incident when people came to her home. Benson said the threats and harassment reported by election workers have been fueled by a multi-faceted and coordinated misinformation campaign aimed at Michigan and other key battleground states, including Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

The new bills “will ensure real accountability for anyone who harasses an election clerk,” she said.

Citing a Brennan Center for Justice survey released in April, Benson said 73 percent of local election officials reported feeling that threats had increased in recent years.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced charges against three suspects in separate cases involving threats against election officials in Michigan, Arizona and Georgia.

In Michigan, a 37-year-old Indiana man was charged for making threats against then-Rochester Hills clerk Tina Barton. According to the 3-page federal indictment, Andrew Nickels allegedly called Barton and left a voicemail saying, “We’re watching your … mouth talk about how you think that there’s no irregularities … [Y]ou frauded out America of a real election..Guess what, you’re gonna pay for it, you will pay for it…[T]en million plus patriots will surround you when you least expect it: your little infantile Deep State security agency has no time to protect you because they bought out and we’ll [expletive] kill you.. [Y]ou will [expletive] pay for your [expletive] lying ass remarks We will [expletive] take you out. [Expletive] your family, [expletive] your life, and you deserve a throat to the knife… Watch your [expletive] back …watch your [expletive] back.”

Nickels is charged with one count of making a threatening interstate communication. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A jury trial has been scheduled for Oct. 10.

Barton wrote about the threats to her life on social media last month.

“I’m relieved to know that the man who officials believe is responsible for making explicit and terrifying death threats against me & my family has been identified. This has not been an easy thing for me & my family to go through for the last 2.5+ years,” Barton wrote. “I’m hopeful that today’s arraignment sends a strong message that threatening election officials is unacceptable and illegal.”

Lata Nott, senior legal counsel for the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, which advocates on voting rights, also testified at Tuesday’s hearing, urging committee members to pass the legislation.

“Election workers across the country have been on the receiving end of an onslaught of threats, harassment …stalking that’s escalated into an undeniable crisis,” said Nott during her testimony via Zoom. “Michigan is no exception.”

Nott said a Campaign Legal Center study found that one out of six election workers nationally had experienced threats in connection with their jobs. Others have been forced to take new precautions. She pointed to Canton Township clerk Michael Siegrist, who said he made some security upgrades, such as relocating garbage cans where bombs could potentially be placed, following a security site assessment by U.S. Homeland Security agents. Siegrist said he installed a badge access system, increased security camera coverage, and focused on securing doors as part of $30,000 in security upgrades.

State Rep. Rachelle Smit, a Republican who represents a district covering part of Allegan, Barry, and Eaton counties, asked Hope if the bill would cover ballot challengers. Hope answered the bill is “strictly” about election workers.

Smit, a former clerk who says she has been harassed herself, also asked Benson if the state keeps track of threats against clerks and other election workers. Benson said the Michigan Attorney General would be in a position to collect such data.

Oralandar Brand-Williams is a senior reporter for Votebeat in partnership with Bridge Michigan. Contact Oralandar at obrand-williams@votebeat.org.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

Several people who spoke at the Shelby Township Board of Trustees’ meeting demanded that Grot step aside, saying he has “shamed” the township because of the eight-count indictment against him. The packed, civil audience of about 125 people at the township library was a far cry from the normal low-turnout proceedings, a member of the board noted.

Grot, whose job as clerk means he also sits on the board, was called out by some of his constituents on the state’s allegations that he was trying to help throw a presidential election.

Jim Diez was among Shelby Township residents who showed up and addressed Grot directly, urging him to resign and then asking the township board to remove him if he doesn’t.

“I think it’s the best thing for the township. I think there is enough swelling in the township in both the Democratic and Republican party that if you don’t, then we’re going to have to figure out a recall. I hate to drag the whole township through it, but it’s just getting to that point,” said Diez.

An attorney for the Shelby Township Board said the board has no authority to remove Grot and that only the governor has the power to do so.

Grot is among 16 Republicans whom Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel charged with felonies in July for trying to cast Michigan’s electoral votes for Donald Trump even though Joe Biden won the state.

The defendants, some of whom are scheduled for a Friday hearing in the case, are accused of secretly meeting on Dec. 14, 2020 in the basement of the Michigan Republican Party headquarters in Lansing and hatching a plan to submit forged certificates falsely certifying that Michigan residents had voted for Trump despite Joe Biden’s victory.

In light of the charges, the Secretary of State’s Office stripped Grot of his election duties last month, and the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks suspended Grot’s membership rights. But Grot has retained other clerk duties for his township.

As Diez spoke at the meeting, he held up a copy of what he said was the certificate of the votes that the false electors had signed in 2020. His wife followed with her own criticism.

“You tried to overturn an election and you tried to end democracy as we know it,” said Alisa Diez in her 3-minute remarks during the public comments.

Grot listened to and faced his critics but did not address them, appearing mostly unemotional during the meeting.

At least one woman spoke in defense of Grot during public comment, asking the clerk’s detractors to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Representatives from voting rights organizations, like All Voting Is Local and Voters Not Politicians, also attended Tuesday’s meeting and presented a letter to the board asking the trustees to formally seek Grot’s resignation.

Before the meeting, protestors stood outside the library carrying placards, some of which read “Cut the rot, recall Grot” and “Grot must go.” The protests were peaceful and demonstrators put their signs away before going into the meeting.

Laura Brown told Votebeat Michigan before the meeting that she wants Grot to leave office because of the accusations and indictment against him.

“Anybody who knowingly submitted forged documents should be removed,” said Brown Tuesday.

Syma Echeandia said the best thing for the community is for Grot to resign.

“He has committed a crime, and we’re not stupid,” Echeandia said at the meeting. “He has attempted to defraud voters of Michigan, not just Shelby Township but the entire state. I understand the law, you can’t have him eliminated here. I understand that we have to do a recall. If the man has any grace whatsoever he would step down and he would avoid all this angst and aggravation that we have to put up with.”

Grot’s attorney, Derek Wilczynski, addressed the crowd Tuesday saying his client has no intention of stepping down.

“Mr. Grot is innocent until proven guilty,” said Wilczynski. “A fundamental principle of our government is that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.”

Wilczynski said he heard things said about his client at the meeting that are “fundamentally untrue,” including allegations that Grot signed the false electors’ certificate.

“Mr. Grot is accused of signing this document with the intent to defraud. That’s not what is even in the affidavit supporting the charges in this case,” said Wilczynski. “The charges against Mr. Grot are so thin, I’m confident he’s going to be found innocent. He looks forward to defending these charges and he looks forward to clearing his name.”

Wilzynski added that “this is at its core a political prosecution.”

No requests for petitions to begin the process of a recall or phone calls regarding possible recall of Grot had been received as of Wednesday morning, according to a staffer in the Macomb County’s Board of Canvassers office.

Grot’s four-year term is up in November 2024. Under state law, he would not be subject to a recall petition filed in his last year.

Initiating a recall election of a public official in Michigan requires following an extensive formal process. The effort in Shelby Township would require petitioners to gather 9,649 signatures of local voters supporting such an election, equal to 25 percent of the township residents who voted in last year’s gubernatorial election.

A key Republican figure in Macomb County, Grot was appointed as Shelby Township clerk in 2012 and elected for each of his terms since. He previously served as Sterling Heights councilman and in various Macomb County positions including commissioner and the county’s deputy treasurer.

Grot is also a former chairman of the Macomb County Republican Party and is currently the 10th Congressional District Republican chairman.

Michigan recently saw a successful recall of a local clerk in May, when voters in Adams Township in Hillsdale County removed Clerk Stephanie Scott. The Secretary of State’s Office had stripped Scott of her election duties after she refused to conduct mandatory routine maintenance of the township’s voting system, which she alleged might contain evidence of cheating in the 2020 election.

Oralandar Brand-Williams is a senior reporter for Votebeat in partnership with Bridge Michigan. Contact Oralandar at obrand-williams@votebeat.org.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

Michigan Elections Director Jonathan Brater Thursday sent an official letter informing Stanley Grot, a longtime Republican politician, that he is being relieved of duties related to elections administration while the criminal case against him plays out.

Grot and 15 others were charged Tuesday by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel with:

The defendants are accused of secretly meeting on Dec. 14, 2020 in the basement of the Michigan Republican Party headquarters to hatch a plan to submit forged certificates falsely confirming the state had voted for Trump, despite Joe Biden’s victory.

“These false documents were then transmitted to the United States Senate and National Archives in a coordinated effort to award the state’s electoral votes to the candidate of their choosing, in place of the candidates actually elected by the people of Michigan,” Nessel, a Democrat, said in a press release Tuesday announcing the felony charges.

Grot, 71, was appointed Shelby Township clerk in February 2012, then elected in November 2012 and has been in the position since then. He previously served as a Sterling Heights city councilman and as a Macomb county commissioner.

In the three-page letter, dated July 20, 2023, Brater informed Grot that he is to refrain from performing his official election duties until and unless the matter is resolved in his favor.

“Allegations that you have violated Michigan criminal and election statutes by attempting to award the state’s electoral votes to candidates other than those actually elected by the people of Michigan fundamentally undermines voter confidence in the integrity of elections,” Brater wrote.

Brater added: “Therefore, in order to ensure public trust and confidence in the integrity and security of elections, I am instructing you to refrain from administering any elections held in Shelby Township while these charges are pending against you.”

Grot did not respond to calls and emails from Votebeat Michigan over two days.

On Wednesday, before Brater’s letter, Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini defended Grot’s work record, saying, “He’s done a good job and there’s been no controversy in what he’s done in his job as the clerk.”

Forlini, a Republican, said he doesn’t think the case “has anything to do with him being a clerk.”

Among the 15 others charged in addition to Grot are: former Michigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock, 55 of Milford; Wyoming (Michigan) Mayor Kent Vanderwood, 69; Kathy Berden, 70, of Snover; William (Hank) Choate, 72, of Cement City; Amy Facchinello, 55, of Grand Blanc; John Haggard, 82, of Charlevoix; Mary-Ann Henry, 65, of Brighton; Timothy King, 56, of Ypsilanti; Michele Lundgren, 73, of Detroit; James Renner, 76, of Lansing; Mayra Rodriguez, 64, of Grosse Pointe Farms; Rose Rook, 81, of Paw Paw; Marian Sheridan, 69, of West Bloomfield; and Ken Thompson, 68, of Orleans.

Nessell said Tuesday that “the false electors’ actions undermined the public’s faith in the integrity of our elections and, we believe, also plainly violated the laws by which we administer our elections in Michigan.”

Oralandar Brand-Williams is a senior reporter for Votebeat in partnership with Bridge Michigan. Contact Oralandar at obrand-williams@votebeat.org.

Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.