A review of court records appears to refute claims made by some members of Hillsdale County’s contingent of the America First movement about the mishandling of election records by Hillsdale County Clerk Abe Dane.
For some time, the group that calls itself Hillsdale Conservatives has claimed that Dane admitted in court to illegally destroying election records.
However, a WCSR News review of more than 400 pages of sworn testimony by Dane and the Director of the Michigan Bureau of Elections, Jonathan Brater, fails to support those claims.
Dane’s and Brater’s testimony centered on the procedures and laws that govern the handling of election records.
The testimony came during court proceedings, in August of 2025, in the case against former Adams Township Clerk Stephanie Scott and her attorney Stefanie Junttila.
Scott and Junttila are facing felony charges for allegedly granting unauthorized access to election data, following the 2020 General Election.
Both have denied any wrongdoing.