Informing Democracy named 33 Michigan state lawmakers and 8 county officials it says tried to undermine elections in its report “Democracy Under Threat: A Spotlight on 204 Officials Who Could Undermine Our Elections” released on Monday, including state Reps. Bob Bezotte and Ann Bollin.
You can read the report by clicking here.
The report rapped Bezotte, Livingston County’s former sheriff who now represents Michigan’s 50th House district, for signing onto a letter on June 15, 2022, that urged Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to “investigate, and bring charges if credible evidence is found, the Secretary of State of Michigan, members of her office, and any organizations or individuals for crimes related to fraud committed in the 2020 election and crimes brought to light in the documentary ‘2000 Mules.’”
Bollin, a former Brighton Township clerk, and who now represents Michigan’s 49th House district, made the list for signing onto a letter in November 2020 to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson that contained allegations about Dominion voting machines, mishandled ballots, and interference with poll watchers and election challengers. The letter called for a “full, independent audit … prior to the certification of any results … so that Michigan can fully participate when the electoral college meets on Dec. 14.”
The report said that in 2022, “challenges to our democracy were widespread: election certifications were delayed in multiple states, contests alleging fraud without evidence were allowed to move forward, officials tried to prevent thousands of valid ballots from being counted, costly and inaccurate full hand counts were attempted, and misinformation was delivered not just in online forums but within official government meetings. All of these attempts to subvert the will of voters and undermine confidence in our elections occurred at the most local levels of government, where we largely entrust the responsibility for administering our elections.”
Informing Democracy began its work in 2022 focusing on researching the election administration in six states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan,
North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
You may not have heard of the group: Informing Democracy describes itself as a “new, non-profit organization made up of election professionals, researchers, and lawyers.” Its executive director, Jenna Lowenstein, and managing director, Peter Bondi, are political strategists who’ve worked with Democratic candidates.
“Our research revealed more than the complexity, and in some cases fragility, of the processes behind how we count votes and certify elections—it also exposed the prevalence of officials who have sought to undermine our elections,” the Informing Democracy report said. “In Michigan, officials who spread election disinformation attempted to void votes from the city of Detroit entirely.”
Bollin was among those at the TCF Center in Detroit on the night of the 2020 election.
In a Nov. 9, 2020, Facebook post, Bollin wrote this:
“INTEGRITY MATTERS! As a former clerk and strong advocate for election integrity I am greatly dismayed by what is going on with the elections in Michigan. For 16 years I ran clean elections in my hometown as a clerk. This year, I was at TCF on Monday and roving around metro Detroit, Pontiac and the Brighton area on Election Day to observe the election from a very different perspective. I saw first hand how Michigan election laws were not being followed, challengers and precinct workers were being disenfranchised, dismissive election supervisors, double standards being applied out of fear. It was also clear that many people participating in the process – from workers to attorneys – are not fully familiar with the checks and balances in Michigan election law. Most disappointing is that we have a SOS and Governor who are hijacking our elections under the cloak of democracy and transparency and using COVID-19 as an excuse. I have been fielding calls since Monday on many election issues including challengers rights, blatant violations of Michigan election law, loose interpretation of the law, the process, the list goes on. I am 100% committed to ensuring we have fair, free and secure elections EVERYWHERE. I am digging into the problems and working on what needs to be changed in Michigan election law to ensure we have integrity in our elections and what needs to be enforced. I will not stop fighting for election integrity and fair and free elections. It seems there is a rush to bring this to a conclusion by many – isn’t it more important that we get it right by the law? Do you agree with me?”
