LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The Michigan Board of State Canvassers voted unanimously on Friday to approve the candidacies of three Republican contenders for an open U.S. Senate seat. This decision followed the acceptance of a staff report by the state’s Dept. of Elections confirming that each candidate had submitted enough valid signatures on their nominating petitions to qualify for the August 6th primary ballot.
Republican Senate candidates still in the race despite objections of Democrats.
Despite Democratic groups raising concerns about potential fraud in the petitions submitted by entrepreneur Sandy Pensler and former U.S. Representatives Mike Rogers and Justin Amash, the board decided to move forward based on a random sampling of signatures.
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The Democratic groups, including the state Democratic Party and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, had called for a more extensive review, suggesting that the random sample might have missed fraudulent signatures.
Mike Roger’s attorney says Democratic complaints are a partisan maneuver.
Chris Trebilcock, a lawyer for the Democratic groups, argued for a more thorough investigation, saying that the board had a duty to ensure the integrity of the signatures. However, Eric Doster, representing Rogers’ campaign, dismissed these concerns as a “public relations stunt” by Democratic allies of U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the presumed Democratic front-runner.
Mary Ellen Gurewitz, the board’s Democratic chairwoman, defended the use of random sampling, asserting that it provided a statistically reliable prediction of the validity of the signatures. The board’s decision was also influenced by the need to adhere to a firm deadline for filing challenges, ensuring that staff had sufficient time to review them.
Other candidates disqualified from ballot due to petition issues.
While the GOP candidates were cleared for the ballot, the board also dealt with disqualifications based on technicalities and insufficient signatures. Notably, Democratic senate candidate Nasser Beydoun was disqualified from running against Elissa Slotkin in the primary in Michigan due to his use of a post office box instead of a street address on his petition forms. Beydoun plans to challenge this finding in court, arguing that the statute was ambiguous and that he used a P.O. Box for family safety reasons.
The Bureau of Elections also recommended, and the Board of State Canvassers approved, the disqualification of eight congressional candidates due to insufficient nominating petitions.
Report requested looking into the deeper concerns of petition fraud.
The Board of State Canvassers is also taking steps to address broader issues of fraud in the petition signature process. Following numerous complaints of inappropriate signatures on petitions for various offices, the board recommended that the Bureau of Elections prepare a comprehensive report on
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allegations of fraud. This report will include the names of circulators and companies involved, aiming to provide transparency and facilitate law enforcement investigations by making their findings public.
This move comes in the wake of a 2022 scandal where a signature forgery ring disqualified five Republican gubernatorial candidates. Republican Canvasser Tony Daunt highlighted the ongoing threat of fraudulent circulators and questioned why there had been limited prosecution by Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel despite widespread acknowledgment of the issue.
Daunt said about the situation, ”It is a threat. Everybody claims it’s a threat. What the hell is she doing?”
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