Fake Surveillance Camera Next To Ballot Drop Box Investigated As ‘Voter Intimidation’

A fake surveillance camera that flashed when voters approached a drop box in Plymouth Township, Michigan, is being investigated as potential voter intimidation.

The device, set up at a drop box location outside a local church ahead of the state’s primary elections last month, was set up to flash “as if it was taking a picture,” police chief James Knittel told The Detroit News.

“We’re looking at this as voter intimidation,” he added.

“The concern is that somebody is trying to intimidate or coerce our voters, and that’s why we’re conducting the criminal investigation,” Knittel told HuffPost Wednesday. “Tips have come in, we’re following up on each tip.”

“That’s a clear attempt at voter intimidation,” township Supervisor Kurt Heise told Hometown Life, which first reported the story. “They installed these fake cameras to intimidate people who were coming to drop off the ballots… and undermine confidence in the system.”

Ironically, the township had its own cameras monitoring the drop box, which captured images of the person who set up the fake camera.

“We reviewed our cameras and saw clearly an individual coming by, looking at the site, walking back to his car, bringing back the camera and installing it,” Township Clerk Jerry Vorva told Hometown Life. “Either him or someone who looks like him then comes back a few weeks later and installs some lights that look like a camera next to the dropbox.”

Knittel told The Detroit News that footage showed the potential perpetrator installing the fake camera in January and a solar-powered lighting device in February. Vorva discovered the fake camera when he was checking on the box last month.

The township posted footage of the person on its Facebook page Tuesday, asking anyone