Michigan’s attorney general has filed charges against 16 Republicans accused of being fake electors for Donald Trump after the 2020 election.
Electors are people appointed to represent voters in presidential elections. The winner of the popular vote in each state determines which party’s electors are sent to the Electoral College, which meets in December after the election to certify the outcome.
The 16 people are accused of submitting false certificates confirming they were legitimate electors despite US President Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
Attorney general Dana Nessel, a Democrat, announced that all 16 individuals would face eight criminal charges, including forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery, which range from a potential five to 14 years in prison each.
The group includes the head of the Republican National Committee’s chapter in Michigan, Kathy Berden, as well as the former co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party, Meshawn Maddock and Shelby Township Clerk Stan Grot.
“It would be malfeasance of the greatest magnitude if my department failed to act here in the face of overwhelming evidence of an organised effort to circumvent the lawfully cast ballots of millions of Michigan voters in a presidential election,” Ms Nessel said.
There was no immediate reaction from the White House after the charges were announced.
The group is alleged to have met inside the then-Michigan Republican Party headquarters on December 14, 2020, and signed their names to multiple certificates stating they were the qualified electors for then-US president Mr Trump. These false documents were then transmitted to Congress and the National Archives.
In January of last year, Ms Nessel asked federal prosecutors to open a criminal investigation into 16 Republicans.
She alleged a “co-ordinated effort” among Republican parties in several battleground states, including Michigan, to push so-called alternate slates of electors with fake documents.
She said she wants federal authorities to make an evaluation for possible charges.
In seven battleground states, including Michigan, supporters of Mr Trump signed certificates that falsely stated he had won their states, not Mr Biden.
The fake certificates were ignored, but the attempt has been subject to investigations, including by the House of Representatives committee that investigated the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.
False Electoral College certificates were also submitted declaring Mr Trump the winner of Arizona, Georgia, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
