{"id":2027053,"date":"2023-09-09T22:02:05","date_gmt":"2023-09-10T02:02:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-orders-michigan-county-to-pay-10000-to-election-integrity-group-over-foia-practices\/"},"modified":"2023-09-09T22:06:02","modified_gmt":"2023-09-10T02:06:02","slug":"judge-orders-michigan-county-to-pay-10000-to-election-integrity-group-over-foia-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-orders-michigan-county-to-pay-10000-to-election-integrity-group-over-foia-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan County Ordered to Pay $10K to Election Integrity Group for FOIA Practices"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjudge-orders-michigan-county-to-pay-10000-to-election-integrity-group-over-foia-practices%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2027053&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>It took over one\u200c year \u2064of wrangling and a lawsuit, but the Michigan\u200d Grassroots Alliance (MGA), an election integrity watchdog\u2064 group, has finally obtained a segment of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mississippi-governor-signs-legislation-prohibiting-ballot-harvesting\/\" title=\"Mississippi Governor Signs Legislation Prohibiting Ballot Harvesting\">video surveillance tape<\/a> that may serve as crucial evidence in an investigation of the handling of voting results \u200con <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-real-clear-politics-say-they-never-called-pennsylvania\/\" title=\"BREAKING: Real Clear Politics -- SAY THEY NEVER CALLED PENNSYLVANIA\">election night<\/a> \u2063in 2022 by some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-secretary-of-state-there-will-be-a-recount\/\" title=\"Georgia Secretary of State: 'There Will Be a Recount'\">county election officials<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In \u2063a properly functioning Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, obtaining the tape should have taken about two weeks. However, it took nearly 13 months for MGA to secure it.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, on Sept. 7,\u200d the matter was settled in a Wayne\u200d County Circuit\u2062 Court, but \u2062not before the group\u2019s representative, Patrick Colbeck, faced a bureaucratic runaround.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\" id=\"in_article_related_stories\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/republicans-win-major-election-integrity-ruling-against-michigan-secretary-of-state-4812191\">Republicans Win \u2064Major Election Integrity Ruling\u200b Against Michigan Secretary of State<\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">10\/21\/2022<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/republicans-win-major-election-integrity-ruling-against-michigan-secretary-of-state-4812191\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n            <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/michigan-state-senator-raises-concerns-about-secretary-of-state-jocelyn-benson-election-integrity-4821598\">Michigan State Senator Raises Concerns\u200c About Secretary of State\u200c Jocelyn Benson, Election Integrity<\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">10\/26\/2022<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n          <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/michigan-state-senator-raises-concerns-about-secretary-of-state-jocelyn-benson-election-integrity-4821598\"><\/a>\n        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Mr. Colbeck emphasized the urgency of election integrity investigations, stating, \u201cIn order for a court to hold those responsible for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-ag-barr-authorizes-federal-prosecutors-to-pursue-substantial-allegations-of-voting-irregularities-before-2020-election-is-certified\/\" title=\"BREAKING: AG Barr Authorizes Federal Prosecutors to Pursue \"Substantial Allegations\" of Voting Irregularities Before 2020 Election is Certified\">election fraud<\/a> accountable for their actions, under Michigan law, legal action must be taken within 30 days of the election.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    \u200b  Unlawful and \u2062unreasonable delays in the process\u2063 allow\u200c &#8220;those intent upon election fraud to act\u200b with relative impunity&#8221; \u200band no fear of consequences, he said.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Stonewalled<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>    According to MGA\u2019s complaint, Mr.\u2062 Colbeck\u2019s ordeal began on Aug. 12, 2022, with his filing of a simple\u2062 FOIA request for 26 hours of video surveillance tape\u200b of the \u200dentrance to the Wayne County clerk\u2019s office.\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The tape segment \u2063captures the comings and goings of individuals during\u2062 a portion of the day of the Aug. 2 primary and a part of Aug. 3, 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan\u2019s largest city, Detroit, is the Wayne County seat.\u2063 For decades, the city and county\u2014both Democrat strongholds\u2014have been the scene of election night drama. Their late-coming results often determine the \u2062outcome of elections, many times reversing the Republicans&#8217; big outstate lead.<\/p>\n<p>Under Michigan\u2019s\u2062 FOIA statute, a government body has five\u200b days to respond to a\u2063 citizen\u2019s request for information. If necessary, the government has the option of notifying the \u200crequester of the need for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/judge-orders-michigan-county-to-pay-10000-to-election-integrity-group-over-foia-practices\/\" title=\"Michigan County Ordered to Pay K to Election Integrity Group for FOIA Practices\">ten-business-day extension<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>According to the complaint, Wayne County informed Mr. Colbeck\u2062 on Oct. 5, 2022, that it \u2062would grant\u2063 his request\u2064 for the video tape and that a deposit of $2,495 would be required, \u2062payable to the county by \u201ccheck or \u200cmoney\u2063 order.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The\u2063 Oct. 5 communication also included an estimate of the fees and that \u200cit would take \u200capproximately 126.5 man-hours to comply with\u200d Mr. Colbeck\u2019s request.<\/p>\n<p>On Nov. 15, Mr.\u200c Colbeck paid\u200c the deposit by check.<\/p>\n<p>After \u200bmany inquiries by Mr. Colbeck, on \u2063Dec. 6, Wayne County informed him \u200bthat it had received his check but could not accept it as \u2062it was\u200c not a payment by \u201cguaranteed funds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to MGA\u2019s attorney, Thomas Lambert, the summary of the FOIA policy of the County of Wayne does not mention that payment must be made by \u201cguaranteed funds,\u201d nor had Mr. Colbeck ever been required to pay for \u2062any of his many previous\u2063 FOIA requests to the county with such funds.<\/p>\n<p>After multiple attempts to get \u200bclarification\u200b of the county\u2019s payment policy, on Dec. 20, 2022, \u2063Mr. Colbeck mailed in a cashier\u2019s\u2063 check for his deposit in\u2062 the \u2063amount \u2063of $2,495.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    Following numerous inquiries\u200c by Mr. Colbeck about the \u2062status of his FOIA request, on Feb. 1, 2023, the county informed him that the requested \u201cvideo is\u200c in the Wayne County Prosecutor\u2019s Office Evidence Submission Portal queue.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Pay Up!<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>    The \u2064county \u200cthen demanded full payment ($4,998.58) \u201cbefore the redacted video\u2063 is \u2064provided.\u201d\n  <\/p><\/div>\n<p>MGA\u2019s complaint cited the Michigan law that\u2064 limits \u200dthe amount of payment\u200c to 50\u2063 percent of the total cost until the records are turned over.<\/p>\n<p>As of the time of the filing of\u2063 its complaint, MGA had \u2064not\u2063 been provided with any part of the videotape, a good faith estimate of how many days it would be before \u200cit could expect the video to be delivered, \u200dany reason for its high cost, \u200dand no explanation from the county for the delays and redactions.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>    On May 5, 2023,\u200c a frustrated Mr. Colbeck filed a complaint \u2064in\u2062 the 3<sup>rd<\/sup> Circuit Court for Wayne County alleging \u2062the wrongful denial of his request through the \u200ccounty\u2019s failure\u2064 to produce\u2062 the\u200b requested videotape or invoke exemptions.<br \/>\n \u2063\n  <\/div>\n<p>He also alleged one count of charging \u2064a wrongful FOIA fee, contending that Wayne County \u201carbitrarily and\u2063 capriciously\u201d violated the FOIA statute and its own\u200c policies.<\/p>\n<p>To avoid further litigation and possible additional fines and penalties, on Sept. 7, 2023, Wayne County furnished Mr. Colbeck with an unredacted\u2064 copy of the\u2064 requested video footage and agreed to pay\u2064 MGA ten thousand\u2064 dollars within 30 days, without an admission of any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n<p>As part of the settlement, the county refunded Mr. Colbeck\u2019s deposit and was ordered by Circuit Judge Ed<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a year-long battle and legal action, the Michigan Grassroots Alliance (MGA) finally obtained a crucial piece of evidence\u2014a surveillance tape. This tape could potentially shed light on the handling of voting results by county election officials during the 2022 election night investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":369,"featured_media":2027054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2027053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027053","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/369"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2027053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2027053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2027054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2027053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2027053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2027053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}