Michigan Poll Worker Charged With Breach; Officials Say Primary Was Sound

A Michigan poll worker in the Aug. 2 primary has been charged with tampering with an election computer at a voting precinct, a breach that those in charge of elections said highlighted the insider threats to the system’s integrity that have proliferated since the 2020 election.

While state and local officials emphasized that the breach had no influence on the outcome of the primary election, they said that the equipment involved would no longer be used.

The episode happened after the polls closed in Gaines Township, south of Grand Rapids, where a person saw a Republican-affiliated election worker insert a personal USB drive into a special computer known as an electronic poll book, the Kent County Clerk’s office said on Wednesday.

Chris Becker, the county prosecutor, identified the poll worker as James Donald Holkeboer.

The computer stores voter registration data, including confidential, personally identifying information about all voters in the precinct, but is not connected to any of the tabulation equipment or to the internet, according to Lisa Posthumus Lyons, the county clerk.

The case extended a pattern of internal actors’ facing accusations of meddling with election equipment in Michigan, a battleground state where former President Donald J. Trump has falsely asserted that there was widespread voter fraud in 2020. Last month, Dana Nessel, Michigan’s attorney general and a Democrat, requested that a special prosecutor be appointed to continue an investigation into previous breaches and pursue potential criminal charges.

In Kent County, officials did not discuss what had motivated the tampering.

“This incident is extremely egregious and incredibly alarming,” Ms. Lyons said in a statement on Wednesday. “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.”

Ms. Lyons, a Republican, said the clerk’s office would conduct a postelection audit of the precinct, complete with a tally of paper ballots to reaffirm the results and reassure voters. The results had been certified on Aug. 12 and the state board of canvassers accepted them on Aug. 19, according to Robert J. Macomber, the chief deputy clerk for Kent County.

Mr. Holkeboer, 68, was charged with falsifying returns or records, and using a computer to commit a crime, Mr. Becker, the prosecutor, said in a statement on Wednesday. Both charges are felonies, and they carry a maximum combined penalty of nine years in prison.

Mr. Holkeboer could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday, and it was not clear whether he had a lawyer. He was issued a summons and remained free as of Thursday morning, according to Lori Latham, a spokeswoman for the county.

An arraignment date was also not available on Thursday morning for Mr. Holkeboer, who appeared to be a first-time poll worker during the primary, Mr. Macomber said.

Poll workers are responsible for checking in voters, looking them up in the electronic poll book, issuing ballots and helping with crowd flow, Mr. Macomber said in an email on Thursday. About six poll workers are assigned to each precinct for the primary and general elections, and their political affiliations are typically split, said Mr. Macomber, who identified Mr. Holkeboer as a Republican.

Angela Benander, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of State, which oversees elections, said in an email on Thursday that the agency had learned of the breach from the county.

“While our elections remain secure and safe, we take seriously all violations of election law and will continue to work with the relevant authorities to assure there are consequences for those who break the law,” Ms. Benander said. “The breached equipment in this case has been decommissioned and will not be in use for the general election in November. Michigan voters can be confident that their votes will be counted accurately and securely.”