Clerk had planned to hand-count ballots despite order to contrary

31/10/2024 5:57

        Two election
        officials in a small Michigan town have been stripped of their
        duties overseeing Tuesday's U.S. presidential election after
        they vowed to go ahead with a plan to hand count already
        tabulated ballots in an alleged violation of state law.
        
        Tom Schierkolk and David LaMere, the clerk and deputy clerk
        in Rock River Township, were ordered by Michigan Bureau of
        Elections Director Jonathan Brater to refrain from administering
        the vote, according to a letter from Brater dated Oct. 28.
        
        The development highlights lingering distrust of voting
        equipment among some officials following years of falsehoods by
        Republican former president Donald Trump about their integrity,
        including his claim without evidence that he lost in 2020
        because they were rigged.
        
        It also comes with election officials in Michigan and other
        battleground states on edge ahead of what polls indicate is a
        tight race between Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala
        Harris. Pro-democracy advocates have warned that some local
        Republican officials, including those on canvassing boards in
        parts of Michigan, could try to hold up certification if Trump
        loses.
        
        Brater made the decision after Schierkolk said that he
        intended to conduct a hand count of ballots already scanned
        through an electric tabulator, instead of placing them in sealed
        containers in preparation for the county canvass.
        
        In his letter, Brater said those actions would be "contrary
        to law, interfere with the integrity of the election process,
        undermine the county canvass, and jeopardize the ability of
        candidates to request a recount." LaMere also intended to go
        along with the unlawful plan, Brater wrote.
        
        Neither Schierkolk nor LaMere responded to requests for
        comment. In an Oct. 25 letter to Brater, Schierkolk claimed that
        a handcount was legal and that no law existed preventing him
        from verifying the accuracy of the election as he saw fit.
        
        Rock River is a small town of about 1,200 people in
        Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is located in Alger County, which
        Trump carried in 2020 with about 59% of the vote.
        
        A local pastor, Schierkolk ascribes to the view that an
        originalist interpretation of the U.S. Constitution negates
        county, state, and federal authority over elections, according
        to Teri Grout, town supervisor of Rock River.
        
        Rock River Deputy Treasurer Wilma Hill, a former clerk with
        experience overseeing elections, has been designated to oversee
        the Nov. 5 vote, Grout said.
        
        In his letter to Schierkolk, Brater warned that failure to
        comply with the state's orders was a criminal misdemeanor
        offense.