MOUNT CLEMENS (WWJ) – Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido is issuing a warning ahead of next week’s elections.
Lucido says menacing voters is a crime and his office will “not hesitate to criminally charge, or refer to the Michigan Attorney General for charges, anyone who menaces voters at a ballot dropbox or menaces an election worker.”
Ahead of the Nov. 8 election, Lucido says “everyone should feel safe exercising their voting rights.”
“President Theodore Roosevelt was right when he said, ‘A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user.’” Lucido said. “Let’s show Macomb County’s character by not menacing election workers or voters at ballot boxes. Election workers should be treated as heroes.”
Voters are encouraged to report any threats or menacing behavior surrounding the election to police.
Under Michigan law it is a felony to attempt by, “menace, or other corrupt means or device, either directly or indirectly, to influence an elector in giving his or her vote, or to deter the elector from, or interrupt the elector in giving his or her vote at any election held in this state.”
The Detroit Free Press reported on Wednesday a group known as the America Project has a “checklist” targeting Michigan’s election, recruiting election monitors “in ways election experts worry blurs the lines between lawful oversight and vigilantism.”
“The Macomb County Prosecutor’s office represents the people. We are committed to achieving justice and following the laws of the state of Michigan,” Lucido’s office said in a press release. “All that are accused of a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”
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