(Source: MIRS.news, Published 10/30/2024) The clerk of tiny Rock River Township in Alger County was stripped of his ability to conduct the election next week after he and his deputy clerk announced their plans to hand-count ballots. 

Bureau of Elections Director Jonathan Brater sent a letter Monday informing Rock River Township Clerk Tom Schierkolk and Deputy Clerk David LaMere that their plan to hand-count ballots went against Michigan Election Law because it would compromise the integrity of the ballots and jeopardize a possible recount. 

Instead, the deputy treasurer was appointed to conduct the election. 

The New York Times reported that Schierkolk was an activist with Stand Up Michigan, but told Alexandra Berzon that his local affiliate of the group was not responsible for harassing local officials.  

Schierkolk said he plans on voting, but that unless Brater changes his mind he is locked out of the qualified voter file. 

“I didn’t hand it over. It was taken,” he said. 

He said he was writing Brater back and sending a notice of breach of public trust and hoped that he would change his mind so he could finish administering the election. 

He said there have been many letter exchanges between himself and Brater, and he believed the best way to restore trust to the election process was a hand count of the ballots before they were sealed in the ballot box to verify that the tabulators had an accurate count. 

“I believe in transparency and I want our election to be as transparent as possible,” he said. 

He was appointed to the clerk position May 28 and said he was expecting about 800 voters in Rock River Township, which had a population of about 1,200 people. He said the hand count would take a few hours. 

Alger County Clerk Joel Vandevelde said the county said everything was smoothly handed over to the Rock River Township deputy treasurer after the Bureau of Elections told the township clerk to count ballots correctly. 

Brater had sent letters prior and was told by Schierkolk that a hand count of the ballots would take place regardless of what the bureau ordered or the law stated. 

The letter ordered Schierkolk to hand over everything related to the Nov. 5 election day to the Rock River Deputy Treasurer and that Brater was suspending Schierkolk’s and LaMere’s access to the qualified voter file. 

Brater said if the township clerks didn’t comply they could face a criminal misdemeanor charge. 

Vandevelde said Schierkolk had already relinquished the election equipment and materials over to the deputy treasurer. 

“She’s getting all the credentials she needs for the qualified voter file and getting up to speed where he was with the absentee ballots and taking over. It sounds like she’s doing a great job and is ahead of the game. She’s on it. We’re good,” Vandevelde said. 

He said the Alger County Sheriff’s Department and Michigan State Police would be the ones to handle any enforcement against Schierkolk or LaMere, but so far everything has gone smoothly. 

“There hasn’t been a reason to involve law enforcement and hopefully . . . knock on wood,” he said. 

The Rock River Township website had the instructions on how the hand count of the ballots would take place.  

Schierkolk said he wasn’t sure he would pursue legal action, but said there wasn’t a crime committed and didn’t see where in the Michigan Constitution Brater was given the authority to do what he did. 

"I believe that this is also about overreach of an administrative agency that does not have the authority to do what it’s doing, but has the power to do it because they’re in control of the QVF,” Schierkolk said. 

Brater cited the Michigan law giving the Secretary of State departments authority over elections in the letter sent to Schierkolk.