PORTAGE, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Former mayoral candidate and Portage city councilwoman Lisa Brayton had pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of “fraudulent change of address on license.”
She had faced a felony of false swearing to register/vote, which is a violation of election law and she did not receive any jail time for the plea.
Brayton was required to pay $250 in court costs. The initial charge has a maximum sentence of five years in prison and came after a Michigan State Police investigation and the Van Buren County Prosecutor’s Office reviewing the case.
It led to a judge removing her from the mayoral ballot over the residency issue last fall. Brayton ran as a write-in and lost to Mayor Patricia Randall, 7,084 to 1,208.
Brayton had two legal challenges over her residency, with both saying she did not live at the address she listed due to that home being under construction when she filed for mayor last July.
State election law says a candidate must live where they say they live when they file. Brayton did not move to the home at 9336 East Shore Drive until later last fall.
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