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3rd person charged in Michigan vote machine tampering

Electronic voting machines being tested in Conyers, Ga. The state has been the focal point for the debate over how closely election officials and the voting industry are intertwined.
David Goldman
Electronic voting machines being tested in Conyers, Ga. The state has been the focal point for the debate over how closely election officials and the voting industry are intertwined.

Another ally of former President Donald Trump is charged with voting machine tampering in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Michigan.

Attorney Stefanie Lambert Junttila is the third person charged by a special prosecutor in the alleged conspiracy to gain illegal access to voting machines.

The charges were authorized by a grand jury and filed in Oakland County by special prosecutorD.J. Hilson, who said the grand jury “was not influenced by politics, bias or prejudice.”

“Although our office made no recommendations to the grand jury as to whether an indictment should be issued or not, we support the grand jury’s decision and we will prosecute each of these cases as they have directed in the sole interests of justice,” he said.

Junttila was charged with four crimes: undue possession of a voting machine, conspiracy to commit undue possession of a voting machine, conspiracy to commit unauthorized access to a computer or a computer system and willfully damaging a voting machine.

She was arraigned Thursday and released on a personal bond.

Former Republican state attorney general candidate Matt DePerno and former GOP state Representative Daire Rendon also face similar charges. Hilson said he does not expect to bring further charges. Hilson said local clerks who handed over ballot tabulators to the defendants had been misled.

“My team and I will be preparing for the next steps in the process,” he said.

Junttila was not reachable for comment. But in a statement released to news organizations, her attorney accused Hilson of acting improperly and said she plans to sue him for “malicious prosecution.”

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Rick Pluta is the managing editor for the Michigan Public Radio Network.
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