HEAD DOWN & CARRY ON

Some people just don’t get the assignment. Notably, all elections are local and run by municipal clerks. However, they can’t just make up their own rules. There are state, county and local laws that govern how elections must be conducted – and we have to applaud all of our local and county clerks who worked hard and admirably to democratically conduct the recent election. However – one Upper Peninsula clerk and his deputy obviously didn’t read the memo, and were removed right before the November 5 election when they decided – on their own – that they were going to hand count all of the election results for Rock River Township, Michigan, population 1,200,and not properly store them prior to certification. Clerk Tom Schierkolk and deputy clerk David LaMere were notified by Michigan Bureau of Elections Direction Jonathan Brater that failing to comply with “a lawful order from the Secretary of State is a criminal misdemeanor offense.” Brater explained that an unsanctioned hand count interfered with the integrity of the election process. Schiefkolk, who is also a local pastor, had tried to issue a municipal resolution “disassociating” the community from the Alger County Election Commission, and had a document added to the Rock River Township Clerk’s website of an affidavit purporting to grant local officials “sovereign immunity for official acts.” Hopefully they left their muskets at home.