AG: Laws, audits in place to ensure election accuracy

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — During a Q&A session at a Berrien County college, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel answered questions about election integrity.

“That is our job to ensure that these laws are accurately enforced, and then if there is a challenge to an election … a properly certified election that we are going to defend the will of voters,” said Nessel.

In Michigan, the Department of the Attorney General’s office enforces election law, aiming to make sure rights of Michiganders are protected.

Nessel said the 2020 election and alleged fraud in a fake electors scheme caused a change in law.

“We didn’t know how easy it was for somebody just to take a piece of paper and to say, ‘Hey, we are the true and lawful electors for the presidential election’ and then to send it to transmit it to the United States Senate and to think that it is actually possible for the Vice President of the United States to just select that of electors and not the certified slate of electors that the presidential candidate actually won the election,” Nessel said.

“I guess we didn’t know how easy that was to do, but we do now and you can’t do that anymore because we passed a law that prevents that,” Nessel told a crowd of community members and students at Lake Michigan College at a questions and answers discussion.

Last July, AG Nessels office issued charges for 16 people in regards to the Michigan fake elector scheme, including the mayor of Wyoming.

“We know better now and we passed laws to ensure that things that we saw in the past to undermine the will of the voters can’t happen anymore,” Nessel said.

Nessel said her office is working with all of the clerks and law enforcement to ensure the safety of election workers and of the public’s votes.

“To make sure again that everyone has the opportunity to vote who is eligible to do so, but that our votes are counted, that the election is accurate. And we have a process of hundreds of audits that are done by law to ensure that the election is accurate. In Michigan, thankfully, we have paper ballots still and so there’s a way to figure it out,” said Nessel.

She said it’s not a partisan issue.

“It’s an important message for people to hear and it’s important for people to also know all the things we are doing to ensure the safety and security of our elections,” Nessel said.

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