‘INCREDIBLY ALARMING’

Michigan Election Worker Charged With Voting Equipment Tampering

A flash drive was allegedly inserted into a computer containing sensitive voter data.

An election worker in Michigan has been charged with two felonies after allegedly inserting a flash drive into a computer that stored sensitive voter registration data, officials said Wednesday. During the Aug. 2 primary, an election worker was reportedly spotted putting the drive into the computer used to administer the election in Gaines Township in Kent County, a statement from county clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons said. “This incident is extremely egregious and incredibly alarming,” the statement continued. “Not only is it a violation of Michigan law, but it is a violation of public trust and of the oath all election workers are required to take.” Although not named in Lyons’ statement, election worker James Donald Holkeboer was charged with falsifying election records and using a computer to commit a crime. He could face a nine-year sentence if convicted.