LANSING, Mich. — Today, Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum issued the following statement on felonious activity that was reported to her in Mason, Michigan:
“Earlier this week, I filed a complaint with the Mason Police Department and the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office regarding a report of a potential election violation located just blocks from the Mason Historical Courthouse. The below picture shows the activity in question; the resident of the home in Mason has installed a toilet on their lawn with a sandwich-board sign that reads ‘Place Mail-In Ballots Here.’
Elections in this country are to be taken seriously and there are many people who are voting by mail for the first time this Election. We need to put out accurate, complete information about voting by mail, which is the safest way to vote during the pandemic. That starts at the top and I worry that the misinformation coming from President Trump is encouraging people to lose faith in the absentee voting process, something that has been taking place since the Civil War.
It is a felony to take illegal possession of an absentee ballot (voted or unvoted) according to Michigan Compiled Law 168.932(f). Felonies of this kind are punishable by a fine of $1,000.00 or 5 years in prison.
I find it more than a little ironic that the person who is registered at the address in question has voted absentee for the last three elections, so they obviously know the importance of exercising their right to do so.
Absentee ballots may be voted and returned to a voter’s local clerk via the US Postal Service, dropped in the local clerk’s drop box, or turned into the local clerk in person. If a voter chooses to return their ballot in the mail, I am encouraging them to do so no less than 2 weeks prior to Election Day.
If any voter has questions about how to vote in the upcoming Election, I encourage them to contact me at 517-676-7201 or via email at inghamclerk@ingham.org.
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