Michigan Democrats Demand Investigation Into GOP Senate Race Petitions

Michigan Democrats are requesting a state elections investigation into signatures on GOP Senate candidates’ petitions to determine if any were forged or fraudulent. This move, one campaign argues, is an attempt to remove Republicans from the ballot entirely.

Attorneys for the Michigan Democratic Party and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee sent a letter to the Michigan State Board of State Canvassers on Friday. They asked for an investigation into the nominating petitions submitted by candidates Mike Rogers, Sandy Pensler, Justin Amash, and Peter Meijer. Meijer has since dropped out of the race.

The letter claims to have evidence similar to what led to the disqualification of gubernatorial candidates in the 2022 race. According to the Detroit Free Press, the petitions allegedly show “patterns that indicate the presence of potential forgery and other fraudulent signature-gathering tactics.”

A spokesperson for Sandy Pensler criticized the request, saying, “Democrats can’t beat Republicans at the ballot box, so it looks like they’re trying to eliminate Republicans from the ballot.” Pensler has submitted over 26,000 signatures and qualifies for the ballot without challenge.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Mike Rogers, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, called the letter an “antidemocratic stunt” from allies of U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, the Democrats’ front-runner for the Senate nomination.

The Democrats claim in their letter:

• Entire petition sheets had signatures from different signers, appearing to be in the same handwriting.
• Sheets signed by the same circulator had different handwriting for her signature and contained address and ZIP code mistakes.
• Duplicate signatures from the same voter appeared in different handwriting on nominating petition sheets.
• The same voter signed for different candidates using different handwriting.

If candidates have fewer than 15,000 valid signatures, they could lose their spots on the Aug. 6 primary ballot for the GOP nomination for Senator Debbie Stabenow’s vacated seat.

The least-known GOP candidate, Sherry O’Donnell, was not included in the signature challenge letter. She represents west Michigan, as noted by The Free Press.

Michigan Democratic Party Chairwoman Lavora Barnes demanded an immediate investigation, stating that the state Bureau of Elections and the canvassing board must uphold their responsibility to protect the integrity of Michigan’s elections.

The Democrats allege that 433 pages of signatures involve more than 20 petition gatherers who are part of other challenges filed in Michigan.