LANSING, Mich. – Friday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced felony charges against four St. Clair Shores residents for allegedly voting twice in the 2024 August Primary Election. Felony charges have also been filed against three St. Clair Shores assistant clerks for allegedly 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.
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.
“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.”
It is alleged that Prezzato, Kramer, Kempkins, and O’Day appeared in person at their local polling location in St. Clair Shores requesting ballots to vote in the August Primary Election, where they were informed by local poll volunteers that their absentee ballots had already been received. Despite warnings in the Electronic Poll Book, which tracks voter information, indicating the voter had already voted by absentee ballot, and that that ballot had been received by the local clerk, the 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.
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. As a result, the absentee ballots were counted on Election Day.
Following the 2024 August Primary Election, St Clair Shores Clerk Abrial Barret reported these four instances of double voting to Anthony Forlini, the elected Macomb County Clerk, the St. Clair Shores Police Department, and the state Bureau of Elections. This matter was referred to the Department of Attorney General by the Michigan Department of State on August 15. The day after, the local prosecuting agency, the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office, announced their intention to investigate and potentially prosecute this matter. Consistent with the Department of Attorney General’s standard response, the office allowed the local prosecution to proceed while conducting its own independent investigation.
While Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido announced in August that his office would not be filing criminal charges, the Department of Attorney General’s investigation produced probable cause to file charges. The investigation 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. “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.
Original story:
(CBS DETROIT) – Seven people, including four voters, face felony charges in an alleged double voting incident in Michigan’s August 2024 primary election, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Friday morning.
The incident involves four St. Clair Shores residents flagged for submitting two ballots in the primary election on Aug. 6. According to Nessel, each person voted by absentee ballot, returned their ballot and then voted in person at their polling location on election day. In three of the four cases, voters signed an affidavit saying they had not received an absentee ballot despite completing and returning one, Nessel said. Voting twice is a felony.
Nessel is also charging three assistant clerks.
Shortly after the primary election in August, Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini and the St. Clair Shores Clerk’s Office notified the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office that four people may have double-voted during the election.
In August, Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido declined to authorize charges against the four voters, saying an investigation showed that the “appropriate mechanisms functioned as intended to detect the issue,” and that his office “concluded probable cause did not exist to believe that a crime had occurred.”
To view the entire press conference, click here.
