No charge after probe into flashing light system at Michigan ballot drop box

Lansing — Attorney General Dana Nessel's office has decided not to bring charges against a man who mounted a non-functioning camera and lighting system near an absentee ballot drop box in Plymouth Township.

In February, police in the township began investigating whether the camera and the lighting system that was set up to flash when someone approached the drop box ahead of the Feb. 27 presidential primary election was an attempt to intimidate voters.

"After its review, the department determined there was insufficient evidence of corrupt intent, as would be required to substantiate a criminal charge related to this incident," the Attorney General's office said in a statement Thursday.

A man who worked for the City of Plymouth’s Clerk's Office for a previous election came forward and admitted to placing the non-functioning camera and solar light near the drop box. But the person asserted his intent was to "deter tampering and promote honest voting," the Attorney General's office said.

The man wasn't identified in the statement from the Attorney General's office.

"While this incident did not rise to illegal activity, it serves as an important reminder for all Michigan voters, election workers and volunteers to know what is and what isn’t allowed at polling locations and to comply with the law," Nessel said.

Michigan's elections have come under increased scrutiny since November 2020, when former President Donald Trump, a Republican, lost his reelection race but claimed, without evidence, that there was widespread voter fraud in the state.

Bipartisan boards of canvassers, a series of court rulings and an investigation by a Republican-controlled state Senate committee all upheld the result of Michigan's 2020 presidential election.

cmauger@detroitnews.com