A Macomb County judge has upheld a district court judge’s dismissal of criminal charges against two temporary election employees in St. Clair Shores on allegations they help voters cast multiple ballots in the same election.

Circuit Judge Joseph Toia issued an order and opinion Monday maintaining the dismissal of charges against Patricia Guciardo and Emily McClintock after Judge Joseph Oster of 40th District Court in St. Clair Shores threw out the charges against them last December.

The two women were among seven people charged for double voting that nearly occurred in the August 2024 primary in the city.

McClintock and Guciardo were charged with falsifying election records, voting absentee and in-person and offering to vote more than once, under aiding and abetting, for allowing two voters to vote absentee and in person last Aug. 6.

Attorney Robert Ihrie, representing both of the women, said Tuesday he is pleased with the ruling and hopes the Attorney General’s Office does seek an appeal of Toia’s decision to the state Court of Appeals.

“We hope these two wonderful women can put this behind them so they can go on and live their lives,” Ihrie said. “It’s been very upsetting to them.”

Toia issues a several-page opinion in denying the appeal.

“The overriding theme was the prosecution failed to produce any evidence there was intent to do anything wrong,” Ihrie said.

When Oster dismissed the charges, he said the pair “made mistakes perhaps” in allowing Douglas Kempkens and Frank Prezzato to likely vote twice — once by absentee ballot and once in person.

“There’s a difference between mistakes, overlooking, maybe even incompetence, and committing a crime,” Oster said.

Guciardo and McClintock worked at the Clerk’s Office call center to assist and answer questions of poll workers. They were accused of aiding and abetting the actions of the double voters by categorizing a ballot as “rejected” when it had not been.

The mistakes were caught the night of the primary by city Clerk Abby Barrett.

Ihrie argued at last month at a hearing on the appeal that the state contributed to the errors due to flawed election software and contended that the charges were “at least in part” motivated by the politics of Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel because Republican Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido declined to press charges in the cases.

Of the seven people charged last fall, four were voters and three were election workers. Charges have been dismissed against the trio of election workers, although the state is also appealing the dismissal against election worker Molly Brasure. A date has not been set for arguments.

The state also has filed an appeal in the dismissal of the case against voter Geneva O’day. Oral arguments are scheduled for June 9.

Charges remain against three voters — Stacey Kramer, Kempkens and Prezzato. They face charges of voting absentee and in-person and offering to vote more than once, both felonies. They face upcoming court hearings.

St. Clair Shores Mayor Kip Walby called Nessel’s decision to charge them wrong.