Michigan Senate GOP relaxes bill to close drop boxes early
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Senate Republicans on Wednesday relaxed legislation that would have prohibited the use of absentee ballot drop boxes on Election Day, instead proposing to close them at 5 p.m. — three hours before Michigan polls close.
The change, which did not appease opponents, was announced as the GOP-led Senate Elections Committee held its third hearing on measures in a 39-bill package, parts of which would restrict the absentee voting process.
Sen. Ed McBroom, a Vulcan Republican, said officials in Detroit — the state’s largest city — faced a “huge burden” collecting and counting thousands of ballots in drop boxes in November’s presidential election.
As introduced, his bill would have closed boxes across Michigan at 5 p.m. on the eve of an election instead of 8 p.m. on Election Night — 27 hours earlier. Now, they would be locked at 5 p.m. on Election Day.
The goal is to let clerks gather and process ballots earlier “so they’re not out after hours working all night to process thousands and thousands of ballots,” McBroom said. “This was really an effort to help with that administrative hurdle.”
Absentee voters could return their ballots in person to their clerk’s office after 5 p.m., he said.
But critics of the legislation, including local election administrators, said drop boxes should remain open until 8 p.m.
The panel did not vote on any bills. Testimony on the package will continue next week.
Former U.P. attorney pleads guilty to perjury
A former attorney who lost his license due to a criminal conviction has pleaded guilty to additional charges, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Thursday.
Charles Malette, 40, is a former attorney in the Chippewa County area. His license was revoked following a trial conviction for aggravated stalking last year.
On Tuesday, Malette pleaded guilty to one count of perjury, a 15-year felony, as well as one count of felony false pretenses, a five-year felony.
As part of the plea agreement, three embezzlement charges were dropped, though Malette agreed to pay over $50,000 in restitution related to those allegations.
The embezzlement charges stem from three former clients alleging they paid Malette to file complaints in legal matters, but he never completed the work.
The perjury charge stems from an investigation into the defendant’s activity on a site called MyLife.com, which is described as a database to search people’s reputations. Detectives reviewed posts on the site during their investigation into the original aggravated stalking charges against Malette. Later in Luce County, Malette testified under oath during a personal protection order termination hearing that he was unaware of the site.
Malette admitted Tuesday to perjuring himself when he made those statements and that he was aware of the site and had used the site previously.
“Licensed attorneys must adhere to the high standards set by both legal and ethical codes,” Nessel said. “I’m proud of the work done by my team to reach this plea agreement with Mr. Malette.”
A sentencing date is scheduled for June 29 in Chippewa County Circuit Court.
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://legalnews.com/subscriptions
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
http://legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
