Michigan State Police seize voting machine, expand investigation into potential breaches tied to 2020 election

The investigation on whether third parties gained unauthorized access to voting machine data after the 2020 election has been extended by the Michigan State Police, and is now examining potential breaches in at least one new county.

Pamela Palmer said that the state police seized one voting machine tabulator in Irving Township, Barry County Clerk, in a raid, adding that she was not aware of any issues until police notified her of the voting machine seizure.

After the Secretary of State’s Office notified it that an unnamed third party was allowed to access vote tabulator components and technology in Roscommon County, Michigan State Police opened its first investigation into potential voting machine breaches in February, per a report.

The department’s investigation has expanded to more counties where they were notified of breaches of election systems, but would not confirm the seizure in Irving Township specifically, according to Michigan State Police Lt. Derrick Carroll.

Does the investigation include localities beyond Roscommon County and Irving Township? It is not clear yet, but a source familiar with the investigation said that state police are aware of a third potential breach.

“If we find more examples of unauthorized access, we talk to those officials to find out what transpired,” added Carroll.

Carroll also said that these potential breaches did not affect results in the 2020 election, as the breaches occurred after the election was complete.

A growing number of incidents around the country where unauthorized people attempted to gain access to voting systems that were key targets in the Donald Trump campaign’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election outcome, is a reflection of this probe in Michigan.

According to court documents released as part of a failed lawsuit filed by attorneys working on behalf of the former President at the time, they have succeeded, in at least one instance in late November 2020, when a team of pro-Trump operatives traveled to Antrim County, Michigan, and conducted an audit of voting systems there.