Letter To SOS Benson Re: Election Machine Access (8/5/2022)
Letter To SOS Benson Re: Election Machine Access (8/5/2022)
DANA NESSEL
ATTORNEY GENERAL
August 5, 2022
1 Pursuant to our earlier meeting with you, it’s our understanding that these
tabulators have already been replaced and therefore would not impact the August
2nd Primary.
2 The case has been referred to the Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council
(PACC) due to a potential conflict of interest stemming from the actions of one of
the individuals involved in gaining unauthorized access to the tabulators. PACC
will choose another prosecutorial agency through the SPA process.
yet we do not believe these actions impair the integrity of the recent August 2nd
primary election.
As Secretary of State, you have a legal obligation to advise and direct local election
officials as to the proper methods of conducting elections, MCL 168.31, and you
have role with respect to the supervision and administration of election laws, MCL
168.32.3 In light of these important duties, and now that our prosecutorial referral
has been made, we thought it necessary to provide you with an overview of the
factual findings of our investigation thus far as they relate to election administrators
and election equipment. This is just a summary of information and should not be
interpreted as an exhaustive accounting of what transpired. If you believe you need
additional information about the conduct of election officials, please let me know. I
will note at the outset that all election officials interviewed for purposes of this
investigation were cooperative with law enforcement.
Investigatory Findings:
3 In light of your statutory authority, I have identified the clerks by name in this
summary.
4 Person 1 is not a law enforcement officer.
2
Winkelmann and obtained a tabulator and a laptop computer that had served as an
electronic poll book.
On Sunday, March 21, 2021, Person 1 went to Roscommon and met Clerk Stevenson
at the Roscommon County Clerk’s office. She turned over a tabulator and several
associated USB drives. When he asked for the stand-alone computer containing the
Election Reporting Management (ERM) software, she refused the request. However,
she stated that she would allow him to copy the software from the stand-alone
county computer. Person 1 then left but subsequently returned with another
individual (“Person 3”). Person 3 then copied the ERM software. The process took
several hours. On that same date, Person 1 and Person 3 went from the Roscommon
County Clerk’s office to the Richfield Township office and picked up two more
tabulators from Supervisor Bawol.
At the time the tabulators were obtained, Person 1 assured each separate clerk
that they would be returned in just a few days. But as time passed, and the clerks
grew more apprehensive, they contacted the Representative or Person 1. In each
instance, they were simply put off and assured that the equipment would soon be
returned. Clerk Stevenson had several conversations with the Representative over a
period of weeks asking where her equipment was. The Representative kept making
excuses and Stevenson began to question the authority of the investigation. The
Representative told her not to worry about the tabulators, as she was doing the
right thing and they had her back. She further advised the clerk that her name
would never come up.
3
On April 7, 2021, the plaintiff’s attorney issued a subpoena in the matter of William
Bailey vs. Antrim County, 13th Circuit Court case 2020-9238-CZ, ordering Verizon
to produce detailed information concerning specific devices.5 Those
devises were identified in the subpoena as: (1) Specific IMEI or modem ID
351862109252898; (2) Specific IMEI or Modem ID 351862109252930; and (3)
Specific IMEI or Modem ID 351862109256717. These ID numbers are those of
voting tabulators manufactured by ES&S. A representative of ES&S confirmed that
the only way to get the Verizon modem ID number from the tabulators is to break
open the security seals and physically remove the outer panels to look inside of the
tabulators and read the ID numbers on the modems. The modem ID numbers listed
on the subpoena were those of the two tabulators belonging to Richfield Township
and the one tabulator from Roscommon County.
On June 11, 2021, Person 1 delivered the tabulator taken from Irving Township
back to Clerk Olson at the township office. On September 10, 2021, Person 1
delivered the tabulator taken from Lake City Township back to Clerk Winkelmann
at the Great Lakes Crossing shopping mall.
On March 2, 2022, the tabulators that had been provided to Person 1 by the
Roscommon County Clerk and the Richfield Township Supervisor were seized
pursuant to a search warrant and are currently being held in evidence. They were
subsequently examined by ES&S technicians. The ES&S subject matter experts
confirmed that there was an attempt to access the internal components by
unauthorized personnel. ES&S subject matter experts further found that one from
Roscommon County had unusual damage to the access door brackets that hold the
paper roll door assembly.
Based on their review, ES&S subject matter experts concluded that one of the five
tabulators was subject to extensive physical tampering, but that tampering
only resulted in equipment damage. ES&S found no evidence that the physical
tampering resulted in any software or firmware manipulation of the device.
They found no evidence that any of the secure, encrypted USB thumb drives were
subject to any unauthorized access or any software/firmware manipulation.
Lastly, they found no evidence that the EMS Windows operating system or
On April 26, 2022, the Dominion tabulator that had been given to Person 1 by
Lake City Township Clerk Winkelmann was seized pursuant to a search
warrant at the township office. The seal number on the machine was covered over
with red tape in the same manner as that of the tabulator shown in the video.
On April 29, 2022, the Dominion tabulator that had been given to Person 1 by
Irving Township Clerk Olson was seized pursuant to a search warrant
executed at the township office. Visual inspection indicated that the State of
Michigan seals were voided on this machine.
As a result of this investigation, all tabulators that had been improperly accessed
were decommissioned before the primary election. Because these tabulators were
accessed improperly and damaged, they should not be used in any future election.
They are currently being held as evidence pending a Special Appointed Prosecutor’s
review for potential criminal charges.
On February 12, 2021, the Bureau of Elections issued a News Update which
included an article titled "Release of Security." Within the article is a statement
stating:
While jurisdictions should consult with city, township, or county counsel regarding any pending court
orders, subpoenas, or records requests regarding these materials, please note that only election
officials, licensed vendors, or accredited voting system test laboratories should be granted access to
voting equipment. (emphasis added)
Lastly, election clerks should be notified that they should always request to see
identification from any individual purporting to be a law enforcement officer and
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Christina Grossi
Christina M. Grossi
Chief Deputy Attorney General