Overview
- District Court Judge Kristen D. Simmons ruled from the bench on Sept. 9 that the cases would not be bound over to circuit court and ordered each one dismissed.
- Michigan’s attorney general charged 16 people in 2023; after one defendant cooperated and had charges dropped, the remaining 15 faced eight felony counts including forgery and conspiracy.
- Simmons said the defendants sincerely believed they were seeking redress and cited the lack of an official seal or governor’s signature on the alternate certificate as evidence undermining intent to defraud.
- The case centered on a Dec. 14, 2020 meeting at Michigan GOP headquarters where participants signed and sent certificates claiming elector status despite Joe Biden’s roughly 154,000-vote victory in the state.
- Nessel called the decision “very wrong” and is evaluating an appeal, as the ruling could be cited in unresolved prosecutions over alternate electors in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin.