A former township clerk and her lawyer will face charges in Michigan over allegations of a voter data breach associated with the 2020 election, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel introduced Wednesday.
Former Adams Township Clerk Stephanie Scott and her non-public lawyer, Stefanie Lambert, allowed “an unauthorized computer examiner access to voter data, including non-public voter information, concerning the 2020 General Election,” Nessel’s administrative center alleged in a news release.
Scott faces six charges — 5 felonies and a misdemeanor — together with concealing or withholding a balloting gadget and the use of a pc to dedicate against the law. Lambert faces 3 criminal charges, together with the use of a pc to dedicate against the law. It is unclear how they pleaded.
Scott, 52, and Lambert, 42, have touted conspiracy theories about the result of the 2020 presidential election in Michigan.
“Ensuring election security and integrity stands as the cornerstone of our democracy,” Nessel said in the statement.
“When elected officials and their proxies use their positions to promote baseless conspiracies, show blatant disregard for voter privacy, and break the law in the process, it undermines the very essence of the democratic process,” she continued. “Those who engage in such reckless conduct must be held accountable for their actions.”
Lambert’s lawyer, Daniel Hartman, said in a statement to The Associated Press that she did not violate the law and that she “remains steadfast in her efforts to bring transparency to the people’s election data, processes and procedures.” Lambert did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
Lambert is accused of illegally transmitting data from the township’s “Electronic Poll Book regarding the 2020 General Election beneath the course of Scott.”
Scott is alleged to have “deliberately pushed aside a large number of directions” to hand over a voting tabulator to an “approved dealer for upkeep and trying out,” the news release said. Michigan State Police ended up seizing the tabulator as part of a search warrant.
Both Lambert and Scott have histories of election denialism. Lambert tried to sue to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 Michigan election win. Scott, too, has touted election-related conspiracy theories, and in 2021, she was barred from running the township’s local election after the Michigan Bureau of Elections said she failed to take precautions to ensure voting security. She was eventually voted out of office in a recall election last year.
Lambert was arrested in March after a sanctions hearing regarding allegations she spread confidential emails from Dominion Voting Systems.
Associated Press contributed.
