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Fact Sheets Published October 18, 2024

Backgrounder: Stefanie Lambert’s criminal trial

Lambert, a Michigan-based attorney, is part of a network of attorneys that has challenged the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election by pushing baseless conspiracy theories about voting machines.

Issue Areas
  • Accountability
In This Resource
Introduction

Stefanie Lambert (aka Stefanie Lynn Junttila) is a licensed lawyer in Michigan. She first drew attention for her role in Michigan litigation seeking to overturn the 2020 election based on unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud. The courts swiftly rejected the claims and sanctioned the other attorneys involved, while Lambert avoided accountability.

Undeterred, Lambert continued to promote baseless conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and has been a central figure in multiple schemes to improperly access voting equipment in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.

On Aug. 3, 2023, the Muskegon County Prosecutor unveiled charges against Lambert for her alleged involvement in a plot to gain illegal access to voting equipment in the wake of the 2020 election. The DA charged Lambert with four felonies which are punishable by up to five years in prison and a $1,000 fine:

  • undue possession of a voting machine
  • conspiracy to commit undue possession of a voting machine
  • conspiracy to commit unauthorized access to a computer system
  • willfully damaging a voting machine.

Lambert’s criminal trial is set to begin on Oct. 21, 2024, in Oakland County Circuit Court.

Allegations

Lambert is accused of orchestrating a scheme to illegally obtain sensitive voting equipment from multiple Michigan counties after the 2020 election. In March 2021, Lambert directed an unindicted co-conspirator to obtain tabulators from multiple Michigan jurisdictions and bring them back to Oakland County. The jurisdictions included:

  • Irving Township in Barry County
  • Lake City in Missaukee County
  • Roscommon County
  • Richfield Township in Genesee County

The machines were taken between hotel rooms and residences in Oakland County. Lambert and her co-defendants hired individuals with technical backgrounds to run tests on the machines. Lambert and her co-defendant, Matthew DePerno, were often present during these tests. In April 2021, Lambert and others hired a videographer to film a test on an illegally obtained tabulator—which co-defendant Matthew DePerno later posted online. When the tabulators were eventually returned to clerks, it was evident that the security seals had been broken during the tests and one machine was “physically pried open and damaged.” As a result of Lambert’s actions, the machines were decertified and immediately removed from use.

Trial procedures

A jury trial is set to begin on Oct. 21. After jury selection, the prosecution will present its case and then Lambert’s defense will have their opportunity to respond. At this time, it is not clear how long the trial will take.

Witnesses

The state’s witness list includes personnel from Election Systems & Software (a voting machine company), the Secretary of State’s office, the clerk’s offices in Roscommon Township, Denton Township, and Markey Township, as well as several of Lambert’s unindicted co-conspirators in the scheme, namely:

Lambert’s witness list includes Dominion Voting Systems personnel and the Michigan Attorney General’s office staff. The State has moved to strike many of Lambert’s witnesses, arguing that only 9 of the 74 people she listed as witnesses have knowledge relevant to the case.

Key filings and orders
Other cases
  • On August 14, 2023, the Fulton County, Georgia DA charged Trump and 18 others for 2020 presidential election interference. Lambert is an unindicted co-conspirator in that case.
  • On March 8, 2024, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Lambert’s indictment for permitting an unauthorized computer examiner access to voter data, including non-public voter information, concerning the 2020 General Election.
  • On July 9, 2024, Lawyers Defending American Democracy filed a complaint for professional discipline against Lambert with the Michigan Grievance Commission. The complaint focuses on Lambert’s misconduct in connection with her representation of Fulton County, Pennsylvania, where she facilitated multiple, illegal voting machine breaches, as well as her representation of Patrick Byrne in a defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems, where she leaked sensitive documents from Dominion, in violation of a court order.
Resources
  • Oakland County Circuit Court Docket (Case No. 2023-285759-FH)
Press coverage