(DailyVantage.com) – Former Flint Township Clerk, Democrat Kathy Funk, of Genesee County, Michigan has been sentenced to 180 days of house arrest and two years of probation.
Funk will have to pay a $1000 fine, write a public letter of apology within 30 days, and is prohibited from posting on special media regarding the case after pleading no contest to a felony charge of “misconduct in office”.
The sentence is handed down as part of a plea agreement that dropped an additional charge of ballot tampering and included no jail time. Funk agreed to the plea deal during pre-trial before jury selection began.
Funk, a 59 year old Democrat and Flint Township Clerk, was accused of sabotage in the August 2020 primary that year by breaking a seal on a ballot box and rendering it unable to stand up to an expected recount under Michigan state law.
The ruse began when Funk was seeking reelection against her challenger Manya Triplett. Funk reached Michigan State Police to report a supposed break in at the Flint Township Hall. She claimed that a sealed ballot canister had been damaged as a result of the break in.
Funk had beat out challenger Manya Triplett by a mere 79 votes out of around 5,300. Due to the damage of the ballot seal by Funk no recount could be reasonably conducted because it was unclear if any ballots had also been manipulated.
The allegations led Funk to resign her post in the township and she then became the elections supervisor of Genesee County. Ultimately Funk was dismissed from that role in 2022 in light of the allegations.
“Election officials must uphold the integrity of their position and ensure every vote is accurately counted,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a statement when charges were brought in 2022, “Those who abuse that commitment undermine the very foundation of our democracy and will be held accountable.”
Manya Triplett is now Flint Township Clerk.
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