US states warn officials: Delaying, tampering with vote could bring criminal charges

By David Morgan and Jack Queen

(Reuters) - Some U.S. states are sending strong signals to county and local officials who might be tempted to intervene illegally in the Nov. 5 election or refuse to certify results: Fail to do your duty and risk criminal charges or hefty financial penalties.

In at least five of the seven battleground states that could determine whether the next U.S. president is Democrat Kamala Harris or Republican Donald Trump, top election and law enforcement officials have investigated, indicted and even jailed officials who tried to interfere with the vote or delay certification of results, a necessary but largely ceremonial step.

County officials have also been warned that failing to certify results on time could force their local governments to foot the bill for unnecessary audits or recounts.

The increased oversight of local election officials is aimed at preventing unfounded claims of fraud from slowing the certification of election results, which in turn could interfere with Congress's certification of the presidential election results in a highly-charged partisan atmosphere.

Four years after Trump tried to overturn his 2020 defeat, officials in swing states Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, as well as in solidly Democratic Colorado, said they have become far more adept at handling those who overstep their authority.

With Trump still repeating false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and that he will lose in November only through fraud, ensuring the election process goes smoothly in each state is critical. States that fail to certify results by certain deadlines could be left out of the state-by-state Electoral College process that formally determines the winners of U.S. presidential elections.

"The law is clear and we won't tolerate anyone not following it for any reason," Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in an interview. "There are times and places for challenging election results. The certification process is not one of them."

PENNSYLVANIA WARNS OF MISDEMEANOR CHARGES

The biggest of the swing states, Pennsylvania, has already overruled a county official who tried to prevent the use in her district of drop boxes, where early voters can deposit their mail-in ballots.

Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo, a Democrat appointed by the Republican-majority county council, in September scrapped plans to deploy drop boxes, citing concerns about safety. The decision came shortly after the Republican National Committee threatened to sue the county if it did not assure the security of the boxes.

State Attorney General Michelle Henry, in an Oct. 3 letter, warned Crocamo that only the county elections board could decide whether to deploy drop boxes under state law and that if Crocamo failed to comply she could face criminal misdemeanor charges punishable by fines and up to a year in prison.

The county relented shortly afterward.

Henry, a former Republican appointed to her role last year by the state's Democratic governor, said in an interview that her office would continue to enforce election laws.

"We certainly are ready," Henry said. "Should anyone not comply with the statutes, we will investigate that and there will be consequences ... There's both criminal and civil actions that could be taken to maintain the integrity of the process."

Crocamo's attorney, Mark Cedrone, said in an email that his client's initial decision was influenced by activist groups that have openly targeted what some refer to the county's "cheat" boxes for action. He said Crocamo remains deeply concerned.

"Right now in Luzerne County, the political climate is really at the boiling point. I cannot guarantee the safety of individuals who have to work with the drop boxes," Crocamo said in a radio interview with WVIA News.

WISCONSIN INVESTIGATES MAYOR

The criminal division of the Wisconsin Justice Department is investigating Wausau Mayor Doug Diny for removing a locked, empty drop box from outside City Hall in September. Diny, a nonpartisan conservative backed by Republicans, told reporters at the time that he did not feel the box was secure where the city clerk had placed it.

Diny, who did not respond to queries seeking comment, shrugged off a July Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that allowed placement of drop boxes by municipal clerks.

"The Supreme Court interprets the law - this is my logic - does not make the law, does not make state statutes, does not make state ordinances," Diny explained this month at a meeting of the Wausau Common Council.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, declined to comment specifically on the Diny investigation but said his office would enforce election laws.

"It's our expectation that election officials will follow the law," Kaul said in an interview. "But if we receive concerns that that won't be the case, we're prepared to act."

MICHIGAN: FELONY CHARGES, POTENTIAL FISCAL PENALTIES

In Michigan's Macomb County, where Republicans unsuccessfully sued to overturn the 2020 election results, three assistant clerks in the city of St. Clair Shores face felony charges for allegedly allowing four residents to vote twice in the state's Aug. 6 congressional and state primary election.

Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed charges punishable by up to five years in prison against all seven.

"Despite common talking points by those who seek to instill doubt in our election process, double voting in Michigan is extremely rare," Nessel said in a statement. "Nevertheless, the fact that four incidents occurred in a municipality of this size raised significant concerns."

The charges have raised objections in St. Clair Shores.

"In my opinion, this is not voter fraud. This is, to me, political theater," Kip Walby, the city's nonpartisan mayor, told a city council meeting at which he called on Nessel to drop the charges.

Walby told Reuters that three of the accused are not assistant clerks but "part-time seasonal election workers," two of whom worked only on the day of the election.

Nessel spokesperson Kimberly Bush said the mayor was "grandstanding in defense of illegal activity" and that the attorney general would continue to take election violations seriously.

Michigan authorities have taken a different tack against officials who refuse to certify elections by leveraging state election laws that were tightened in the aftermath of 2020.

Delta County canvass board members Bonnie Hakkola and LeeAnne Oman, both Republicans, voted against certification of a local recall election on May 14, after seeing nearly identical voting margins in three different races.

"Because of that, they felt something was 'off' and couldn't in good conscience certify the election," Delta County Clerk Nancy Przewrocki said in an email.

State authorities responded two days later.

"County canvassers have a clear and nondiscretionary duty to certify election results," state elections director Jonathan Brater told them in a May 16 letter. "All costs associated with the state canvass ... will be the responsibility of the county."

The next day, the board met again and certified the results. This time, Oman, an alternate, was replaced by a full-time board member who had been absent on May 14. Hakkola abstained but read from a prepared statement expressing her concerns. Both later resigned.

"I am being coerced into signing a document," Hakkola said. "I am doing my best to protect the votes of the citizens of Delta County and to ensure free and fair elections by bringing transparency and reassurance to all Delta County citizens."

Przewrocki said a hand-count of ballots matched the tabulator exactly in an audit performed after certification.

Oman said in an interview that she and Hakkola wanted a hand recount to verify the results before certification but the request was denied. According to the state recount manual, county election results must be certified before a recount can occur.

"After it's certified, it's out of our hands. We don't have any authority other than our signature," Oman said. "The request should have been granted. It shouldn't have made national news."

ARIZONA: FELONY CHARGES

Two Republican officials from Arizona's Cochise County face felony election interference charges, alleging they delayed the canvass of votes in the 2022 elections.

Cochise County supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd voted to delay canvassing, despite multiple warnings that missing the Nov. 28 state deadline would amount breaking the law, court documents show. They expressed doubts about the accuracy of voting machines. Prosecutors say the delay interfered with a statewide canvass.

Judd and Crosby are due to stand trial in January on felony charges punishable by up to 2-1/2 years in prison. They have pleaded not guilty.

But Judd is scheduled for a court status conference involving a possible change of plea on Monday.

Judd said in an August interview that she has no concerns about the 2024 election in Cochise County: "I'm positive about this election, feeling like things are going to be just fine."

Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and Attorney General Kris Mayes, both Democrats, have made it clear publicly that state election laws will be enforced going forward.

"We have spoken very clearly with clerks and chief judges in these jurisdictions about what the process should be and the speed with which they should act," Fontes told reporters. "I don't anticipate any of these shenanigans."

Nearly a year ago, Mayes also warned supervisors in Mohave County not to violate state law by directing the local election board to count 2024 results by hand instead by voting machine. In a letter, she said the supervisors could be held liable for the cost of the illegal hand count and face felony and misdemeanor charges.

NEVADA: POSSIBLE PROSECUTION, FORFEITURE OF OFFICE

In Nevada, the secretary of state, attorney general and a district attorney intervened to swiftly resolve an impasse over a county’s certification of a primary election results.

The Washoe County Board of Commissioners in July voted 3-2 to not certify the results of a June primary election recount, with several commissioners saying there were anomalies that merited further investigation.

Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar asked the state’s supreme court to force the commissioners to certify, saying their role in the election was purely ministerial and gave them no discretion to hold up results.

The commission reversed course before the case could be decided, with two holdout commissioners changing their votes after being told they could face criminal penalties or be stripped of office if they refused to certify.

Commissioner Mike Clark, a Republican, said during a July 16 hearing that he was changing his vote with “heavy heart” because he was told by the Washoe County prosecutors and Nevada Attorney General’s Office that he was required to certify.

“I have been told that a failure to vote to certify this election could subject me to criminal prosecution and forfeiture of office,” Clark said.

COLORADO: NINE YEARS IN PRISON

In one of the starkest examples, Republican former Mesa County, Colorado, Clerk Tina Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison this month, after being convicted of illegally tampering with voting machines in 2020.

Peters, who repeated Trump's falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen, has denied wrongdoing and insisted her actions were intended to help the people of her county.

Judge Matthew Barrett said Peters had abused her position and violated her oath of office.

"You are no hero," Barrett said as he sentenced her. "You're a charlatan who used, and is still using, your prior position in office to peddle a snake oil that's been proven to be junk time and time again."

(Reporting by David Morgan in Washington and Jack Queen in New York, Additional reporting by Joseph Tanfani; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell)