Public Rights Project (PRP) filed an amicus brief with the Michigan Supreme Court in People v. Holkeboer on behalf of a bipartisan coalition of 28 Michigan election officials who collectively oversee elections for the majority of the state’s population. The brief urges the Michigan Supreme Court to grant review of and reverse an appeals court decision dismissing election fraud charges against election inspector James Holkeboer. In 2022, Holkeboer allegedly told investigators that he used a personal, unapproved USB drive to extract voter information from an election laptop to compare voter registration records.

Election inspectors play an essential role in Michigan elections and have access to private voter information. Most election inspectors operate in good faith, but the coalition of clerks believes strong enforcement of state election laws is needed to deter rogue inspectors from undermining the election process and ensure that those who take intentional acts contrary to the state election code are held accountable.

The brief argues that under existing Michigan law, it is a felony for anyone to fraudulently extract voter records from an election device. By permitting such actions, the Court of Appeals’ decision would undermine election security, voter privacy, and public confidence in elections. Non-approved flash drives can jeopardize digital security, information extracted from electronic poll books may include non-public voter information (like driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of social security numbers), and any voter information that is extracted may be misused to damage public trust in the election system. With election integrity already under a microscope, the public must be able to trust the people who have access to their private voter information.

The coalition of clerks joining the brief includes: