GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — A West Michigan political blogger was convicted by a jury Wednesday on several counts of election fraud.
Brandon Hall was found guilty after a two-day trial on 10 counts of election law forgery.
Court documents say Hall was hired by a prospective judicial candidate in 2012 to gather nominating signatures for the 58th District Court, but the evening before the deadline, he had not gathered the 1,000 required signatures. He was accused of filling in the blank spaces with fake names and addresses, trying to disguise his handwriting by using different pens and swapping between signing with his right and left hands.
Hall was initially charged with felonies in Ottawa County district court, but he argued he should be charged with misdemeanors instead. The Michigan Court of Appeals agreed with him.
However, the prosecution appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court, who unanimously overturned the appeal court’s decision and said that felony charges would be appropriate.
Hall ran as a Republican in August for a state house seat in the 89th district in Grand Haven. He lost the primary, coming in third place.
Hall is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 27.
