Five GOP candidates for governor in Michigan, including top candidate former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, were kicked off the ballot on Thursday after the Board of State Canvassers rejected their nominating petitions due to alleged unprecedented signature fraud.
According to NBC News, the Board of State Canvassers made up of two Democrats and two Republicans were deadlocked in a 2-2 vote to uphold the Michigan Bureau of Elections recommendation that the candidates be removed from the August primary ballot. The two Democrats on the board voted “yes” to uphold the staff recommendations, while the two Republicans voted “no”.
The decision will be challenged in court but the state’s director of elections said the issue needs to be decided by June 3 to leave time for the preparation of ballots.
In addition to Craig, the board also rejected petitions from the other top candidate in the race businessman Perry Johnson and three lesser known candidates financial adviser Michael Markey, Michigan State Police Capt. Michael Brown, and entrepreneur Donna Brandenburg.
“We are disappointed in the Board of Canvassers decision, but we are not surprised the partisan Democrats on the committee ruled against Michigan voters,” Craig said in a statement. “It is a travesty that partisans in a position to uphold democracy and the will of the people allowed politics to get in the way.” He said he will file “an immediate appeal in the courts.”
Ten Republican candidates are seeking the party’s nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November. If the decision holds, the field would be cut in half.
A gubernatorial candidate in Michigan needs at least 15,000 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
An investigation by the Michigan Bureau of Elections identified “36 petition circulators who submitted fraudulent petition sheets consisting entirely of invalid signatures.” The bureau estimates that these circulators submitted “at least 68,000 invalid signatures” for governor, circuit judge and district judge.
According to the Bureau of Elections, Craig turned in over 11,000 invalid signatures, including nearly 10,000 from “fraudulent petition circulators.” He submitted only 10,192 valid signatures.
Johnson turned in 13,800 valid signatures. 9,393 signatures were invalid, including 6,983 that were allegedly fraudulent.
The bureau said it does not currently “have reason to believe that any specific candidates or campaigns were aware of the activities of fraudulent-petition circulators.”
