LANSING, MI – Nineteen candidates from around the state have been booted from the Aug. 3 ballot over petition errors. Those errors ranged from some candidates having thousands of fraudulent signatures on their petitions, to one candidate accidentally covering a few words on her petition with a sticker.
The Michigan Board of State Canvassers on Thursday decided on a total of 32 cases where candidates for this year’s primary election were facing disqualification from the ballot.
The list included six candidates for Michigan governor, seven candidates for U.S. representative and 19 candidates for circuit and district court judges.
Of those 32, only 13 candidates qualified for the ballot after the board of canvassers found their petitions to be sufficient during its Thursday, May 26, meeting. The other 19 candidates were disqualified, and will have to file an appeal in court before June 3 if they want to get back on the ballot.
Five Republican candidates for governor were among those disqualified from the ballot after they submitted thousands of fraudulent signatures on their petitions. Those candidates were James Craig, Perry Johnson, Donna Brandenburg, Michael Markey Jr. and Michael Brown.
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In Michigan, in order to earn a place on the ballot, candidates must circulate a petition and gather a specific number of valid signatures from registered voters in the correct jurisdiction. The rules for petition-gathering are strict – candidates must ensure that signatures are from valid, registered voters, and that every word of information on the petition is correct.
The board of canvassers upheld those rigid rules Thursday, during an 8-hour meeting where state officials pored over reports on petition issues for the 32 candidates.
Some of the candidates argued they were victims to disingenuous petition circulators, and should not be held responsible for having, in some cases, thousands of fraudulent signatures. Other candidates asked for understanding from the state, arguing their mistakes were simply due to human error.
Vice Chair Mary Ellen Gurewitz, one of two Democrats on the four-member board, upheld that it is a candidate’s responsibility to ensure the petitions they hand in are valid and correct.
“Some of the candidates admitted that the signatures are fraudulent and complained themselves that they were defrauded, that they were victims, which is hard to stomach, quite frankly,” Gurewitz said. “It’s their obligation to check these signatures.”
Thirty-six petition circulators could face criminal charges, as the Michigan Department of State has referred the issue to Attorney General Dana Nessel for investigation.
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Board Chair Norman Shinkle, a Republican, opposed the removal of the gubernatorial candidates from the ballot. Shinkle had harsh words for the petition circulators found to be submitted large numbers of fraudulent signatures.
“My comments are that these people should all go to prison – the circulators that defrauded the candidates, and are defrauding us,” Shinkle said.
Board members called some of the decisions “gut-wrenching,” and “brutal,” when candidates were booted from the ballot over minor errors on petitions sheets.
In one case, the board spent 20 minutes scrutinizing a challenge against Mark Koroi, a district court judge candidate who was found to be 43 valid signatures short of his requirement because of faulty dates on some of his petition sheets.
“Is that a number two, or is that a scribble?” Gurewitz asked while passing the petition sheet to board Chair Shinkle, seated beside her.
The board ultimately voted to disqualify Koroi from the ballot over his petition errors in a 3-1 vote, with Shinkle voting against the decision.
“I cannot stress hard enough having been in this position for a long time: take your time, make sure that everything is correct,” said board member Jeannette Bradshaw, a Democrat, before voting to disqualify Koroi.
The 19 candidates disqualified from the ballot now have the opportunity to appeal the decision in court. But they will have to get it sorted out in court before June 3. The state needs to have its primary election ballots finalized by June 3 so that absentee ballots can be printed and proofread.
Ballots get sent to military and overseas voters on June 18, and to all other absentee voters starting June 23.
The board of two Democrats and two Republicans agreed on most of the votes, but differed in some. In five cases, for Republican gubernatorial candidates, the vote was split 2-2 along party lines.
Because of the stalemate, the board did not accept the staff report that the five candidates’ petitions are insufficient. However, an affirmative majority vote is needed to add names to the ballot, meaning those five candidates were disqualified as a result.
There were also three 3-1 votes: two where Shinkle voted not to disqualify judicial candidates Koroi and Chastity Youngblood, and one where Bradshaw voted against putting gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon on the ballot.
Below is a list of candidates who did and did not qualify for the Aug. 3 ballot, starting with those who were disqualified:
19 candidates disqualified:
- Donna Brandenburg for the office of Governor
- Michael Brown for the office of Governor
- James Craig for the office of Governor
- Perry Johnson for the office of Governor
- Michael Markey, Jr. for the office of Governor
- Gabriella Manolache for the office of United States Representative, 3rd District.
- Joseph Alfonso for the office of United States Representative, 4th District.
- Elizabeth Ferszt for the office of United States Representative, 5th District.
- Jake Hagg for the office of United States Representative, 7th District.
- Shakira Hawkins for the office of 3rd Circuit Court Judge, non-incumbent position.
- Chastity Youngblood for the office of 3rd Circuit Court Judge, non-incumbent position.
- Angelique Camfield for the office of 9th Circuit Court Judge, non-incumbent position.
- Christine Beecher for the office of 12th District Court Judge, incumbent position.
- Michael Tinney for the office of 23rd District Court Judge, incumbent position
- Mark Koroi for the office of 37th District Court Judge, incumbent position.
- George Lyons for the office of 12th District Court Judge, incumbent position.
- Philip Cavanagh for the office of 3rd Circuit Court Judge, non-incumbent position
- John Malone for the office of 3rd Circuit Court Judge, non-incumbent position.
- Tricia Dare for the office of 6th Circuit Court Judge, non-incumbent position.
13 candidates qualified for the ballot:
- Tudor Dixon for the office of Governor
- Thomas Barrett for the office of United States Representative, 7th District.
- Paul Junge for the office of United States Representative, 8th District.
- Shanelle Jackson for the office of United States Representative, 12th District.
- Charise Anderson for the office of 3rd Circuit Court Judge, non-incumbent position.
- Anne Marie McCarthy for the office of 3rd Circuit Court Judge, non-incumbent position.
- Regina Triplett for the office of 3rd Circuit Court Judge, non-incumbent position.
- Amanda Shelton for the office of 6th Circuit Court Judge, non-incumbent position.
- Christopher Wickman for the office of 30th Circuit Court Judge, non-incumbent position.
- Craig Pappin for the office of 12th District Court Judge, incumbent position.
- Stuart Collis for the office of 14A District Court Judge, non-incumbent position.
- Brenda Richard for the office of 45th District Court Judge, incumbent position.
- Brian Jackson for the office of 54A District Court Judge, incumbent position.
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