Established Fact
Michigan Bureau of Elections Director Jonathan Brater issued a February 12, 2021 memorandum directing county clerks to delete electronic pollbook software and associated files – records required to be preserved for 22 months under 52 U.S.C. § 20702. The directive was issued less than four months after the election, before the mandatory retention period expired. No law enforcement agency investigated the directive or charged any responsible official.
Citations
Letters to Adams Township Clerk: https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MISOS/2021/10/25/file_attachments/1976229/Letters%20to%20Adams%20Township%20Clerk.pdf | Official Michigan SOS
Hillsdale County Circuit Court transcript (Michigan House Committee Testimony reference); original URL in source document was truncated and cannot be verified through public archive.
52 U.S.C. § 20701 and 52 U.S.C. § 20702 establish a 22-month federal retention requirement for all records related to federal elections; electronic pollbook software and associated files fall within this requirement. The Bureau of Elections deletion directive was issued less than four months after the 2020 general election, well within the mandatory retention window.