BREAKING NEWS: Michigan Bureau of Elections Director Admits His Statewide Instruction to Delete Poll Book Information Was Unlawful
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 11 hours ago
Four hours of cross-examination led to additional admissions
By Kristine Christlieb, MFEI News & Commentary Editor
July 12, 2025
HILLSDALE, Mich., July 11, 2025 — Under cross-examination in a probable cause hearing, Michigan Bureau of Elections Director Jonathan Brater was forced into a number of troubling admissions regarding his election instructions to Michigan clerks.
In Michigan District Court 2B on Friday, Brater was questioned for four hours about the state’s claim former Adams Township Clerk Stephanie Scott and her attorney, Stefanie Lambert, permitted an unauthorized computer examiner access to voter data, including access to non-public voter information.
On May 8, 2024, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced multiple charges against Scott and Lambert for a 2020 election voter data breach.
Nessel charged Scott with:
One count of Using a Computer to Commit a Crime, a seven-year felony;
One count of Computers - Unauthorized Access, a five-year felony;
One count of Conspiracy to Commit the Offense of Computers - Unauthorized Access, a five-year felony;
One count of Misconduct in Office, a five-year felony;
One count of Concealing or Withholding a Voting Machine, a five-year felony; and
One count of Disobeying a Lawful Instruction or Order of the Secretary of State as Chief Election Officer, a 90-day misdemeanor.
She charged Lambert with:
One count of Using a Computer to Commit a Crime, a seven-year felony;
One count of Computers - Unauthorized Access, a five-year felony; and
One count of Conspiracy to Commit the Offense of Computers - Unauthorized Access, a five-year felony.
Brater already had testified against Scott and Lambert on behalf of the state and its criminal charges. Friday’s proceeding was the cross-examination of Brater on behalf of defendants Scott and Lambert.
In his defense of the defendants, Washington, D.C., attorney Kurt Olsen, known for his work challenging irregularities in the 2020 election, kept the pressure on Brater for answers.
In a telephone interview, Irving Township Deputy Clerk Shelly Lake, who attended the hearing, said: “On a number of occasions, Mr. Brater refused to answer Olsen’s questions directly, and [District Court] Judge [Megan R.] Stiverson ultimately was forced to instruct Brater to answer yes or no,” said Lake.
At issue in part of the testimony was a December 1, 2020, memo Brater sent to Michigan clerks, telling them to delete all data from 2020 election poll book (EBP) flash drives. Brater wrote:
The EPB software and associated files must be deleted from all devices by the seventh calendar day following the final canvass and certification of the election unless a petition for recount has been filed.
Scott refused to obey the order, choosing to rely on Michigan election law 168.811 that says:
All election returns, including poll lists, statements, tally sheets, absent voters' return envelopes bearing the statement required by section 761, absent voters' records required by section 760, and other returns made by the election inspectors of the several precincts must be carefully preserved and may be destroyed after the expiration of 22 months following the primary or election at which the same were used. [Emphasis added.]
Under oath, Brater finally admitted, after prompting from the judge, his instruction was unlawful.
Asked whether he had ever examined the information on a poll book flash drive, Lake reported Brater said he had viewed the information on a flash drive but admitted, “I’m not a data guy.”
Brater is, however, an attorney, a University of Michigan Law School graduate licensed to practice in the state of New York.
Brater was asked if, to ensure their compliance with the law, his office has a legal review process. He told the court some of his memos go to the Attorney General’s office for review, a comment that some believe implicates Nessel’s involvement in the distribution of a potentially unlawful memo. Olsen was able to establish Brater’s responsibility to keep apprised of Michigan election law.
Olsen asked Brater if he was familiar with MCL 168.369 which states “the governor shall remove a township officer chosen by electors.” Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf, who attended the hearing, reported in a telephone interview Brater was shown a copy of the statute. According to Leaf, “He [Brater] didn’t remember if he reviewed the applicable law before removing Scott from all election duties in October 2021,” even though the law specifies only the governor can take that action.
In a text message to MFEI News & Commentary, Lake wrote, “One huge point is this: Brater was asked, ‘Is there a specific statute preventing clerks from giving third parties access to tabulators in their custody?’ The judge asked him the same question. He answered, “Not that I’m aware of.’”
Olsen will continue cross-examining Brater on August 11.
To view Fox 47 footage from the hearing, click here.
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