LANSING, Mich. (TNND) — A Michigan case accusing 15 Republicans of attempting to falsely certify President Donald Trump as the winner of the 2020 election has been dismissed after two years of being dragged through courts.

District Court Judge Kristen D. Simmons dismissed the criminal charges on Tuesday and said the accused will not face trial.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced in 2023 that members of the group would face eight charges of forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery. The top felony charges carried a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Investigators said the group met at the Michigan GOP headquarters in December of 2020 and signed a document falsely stating they were the state’s “duly elected and qualified electors.” President Joe Biden won Michigan by nearly 155,000 votes, a result confirmed by a GOP-led state Senate investigation in 2021.

Electors are part of the 538-member Electoral College that officially elects the president of the United States. In 48 states, electors vote for the candidate who won the popular vote. In Nebraska and Maine, elector votes are awarded based on congressional district and statewide results.

One man accused in the Michigan case had the charges against him dropped after he agreed to cooperate with the state attorney general’s office in October 2023. The other 15 defendants pleaded not guilty and have maintained that their actions were not illegal.

Charges against Trump in the 2020 election interference case were dropped in November 2024, after he had been reelected as president.

Special Counsel Jack Smith cited the Department of Justice's policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents.

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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.