The top prosecutor’s office in the state of Michigan has threatened to prosecute a citizen for spreading allegedly “false election information” in the swing state months ahead of the 2024 presidential vote—an ominous sign critics warn could metastasize throughout society in a Harris-Walz administration, since the Democratic vice-presidential candidate has said the First Amendment does not apply to “misinformation.”
Kerry Lynn Elieff, a primary candidate for Ross Township supervisor, posted a message on social media complaining that the polling places for Precincts 1 and 2 had been changed with less than 60 days’ notice, as required by state law, on July 12.
Less than two weeks later, she received a letter from the office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, threatening her with prosecution if she does not stop spreading alleged misinformation—even though some say the statute cited does not apply to Elieff’s post.
“[Y]ou are in violation of Michigan election law. It has come to the attention of our office that you have spread misleading or false election information regarding polling locations in Ross Township through on-line sites,” asserts the letter, signed by the attorney general’s criminal trials division chief, Robbin N. Liddell, on July 24. “[Y]ou are hereby ordered to CEASE AND DESIST the use of online platforms to continue spreading false or misleading information regarding the Ross Township polling locations. Failure to comply with this notice may result in criminal prosecution.” (Emphasis in original.)
The letter states Elieff violated “MCL 168.932(a),” which “prohibits and criminalizes this conduct,” states the letter, first reported by The Midwesterner, as well as Detroit talk radio host Justin Barclay. Yet the statute in question states, “A person shall not attempt, by means of bribery, 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.”
Elieff told The Federalist she believes someone who disagrees with her politics turned her in—something experts fear may spread nationwide in a Harris-Walz administration. Minnesota Gov. and vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz told MSNBC he does not believe statements he considers false are covered by the First Amendment.
“There’s no guarantee to free speech on misinformation or hate speech and especially around our democracy,” said Walz in December 2022.
The vice presidential hopeful particularly chafed at election integrity laws passed with overwhelming voter support in Republican states. “Voting should not be some kind of proving ground,” Walz said, adding he wants “to make it as easy as possible for people to vote,” including translating the ballot “into as many languages as possible” for non-English speakers to chart the course of the U.S. government.
Presumably, any post opposing those assertions may potentially fall into the category of “misinformation” or “false election information,” triggering the threat of prosecution.
Online speech finds itself under threat across what was once known as “The Free World.” In the U.K., the British government has warned citizens it will track them down and put them in prison for posting or sharing any online content government censors say may incite “hatred” against any legally favored minority group.
“Think before you post,” states an online post from the Crown Prosecution Service, which oversees criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. “Content that incites violence or hatred isn’t just harmful—it can be illegal. The CPS takes online violence seriously and will prosecute when the legal test is met. Remind those close to you to share responsibly or face the consequences.”
“Think before you post,” reiterated the official social media account of the U.K. government, led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the Labour Party.
U.S. government officials have attempted to stymie free speech online in the past, most especially during the COVID-19 era. House Republican investigators and the Twitter Files, commissioned by X platform owner Elon Musk, have uncovered a vast public-private partnership to silence and stifle free speech online, as unelected government employees set up backdoor portals flagging social media messages for platforms to throttle, shadow-ban, or remove—at times, closing the user’s social media account completely, even in the midst of a government-ordered public lockdown credited with harming the mental health of a generation.
With the coronavirus pandemic in the past, officials may be pivoting to election “misinformation” as the next avenue to police, censor, and remove online speech. The Michigan Bureau of Elections, under Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, urged people to report their fellow citizens they suspect of spreading misinformation to a government email address, “Misinformation@Michigan.gov.” The action echoes an Obama-era initiative to “flag” alleged misinformation online, reporting it to the federal government. Michigan snitches were asked to include an image of the post if possible.
The announcement also directs individuals to “fact-checking” websites such as Snopes and PolitiFact, which have been accused of bias and misinformation themselves.
Benson’s office also tried to recruit any citizen willing to become a “Democracy Ambassador,” which will receive “nonpartisan facts and resources” to “[s]quash misinformation before it spreads,” according to information received by ReclaimTheNet.org.
Despite the officials’ attempts to rein in free speech on purported “false election information,” critics say the state’s Democratic-controlled government has not responsibly investigated credible charges of voter fraud. Nessel’s office refused to investigate GBI Strategies over allegations the firm turned in thousands of fraudulent voter registration applications in Muskegon County one month before the controversial 2020 presidential election.
“As a former clerk, I can confidently say these registrations were put in the voter file so someone could falsify absentee ballots,” said state Rep. Rachelle Smit, Republican vice chair of the Michigan House Elections Committee, in February. “Their inaction in the face of thousands of suspicious applications indicates a systemic voter fraud coverup exists in the 2020 election. These law enforcement leaders will likely allow the statute of limitations to expire, protecting the criminal enterprise.”
The Biden-Harris ticket narrowly carried Michigan in 2020, reversing the outcome of the 2016 election.
Originally published by The Washington Stand