- Republican Ralph Rebandt and Democrat Kim Thomas shouldn’t make the gubernatorial primary ballot, Michigan officials recommend
- They found both candidates didn’t submit enough valid signatures to appear in the August election
- Bernadette Smith, a GOP US Senate candidate, submitted less than half the required signatures needed to qualify
LANSING — Republican gubernatorial hopeful Ralph Rebandt and Democrat Kim Thomas should not qualify for the August primary ballot because they did not file enough valid nominating petition signatures, Michigan election officials recommended Wednesday.
US Senate Candidate Bernadette Smith, who hoped to challenge Mike Rogers in the Republican primary, turned in fewer than 7,000 signatures — less than half the 15,000 required to make the ballot — and should also be disqualified, according to the Michigan Bureau of Elections. All other US Senate candidates survived review.
The recommendations, from nonpartisan civil service bureau staff, are not a final determination.
They were sent to the bipartisan Board of State Canvassers, a four-member panel that will convene May 28 to decide which statewide candidates should be certified for the Aug. 4 primary ballot.
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Businessman Perry Johnson and US Rep. John James appear poised to survive challenges from each other’s supporters.
Both should qualify for the Republican gubernatorial primary ballot, according to bureau staff. Officials reviewed allegations in the challenges but found both candidates submitted more than enough valid signatures to make the ballot.
Democratic candidates for governor Jocelyn Benson and Chris Swanson, along with Republicans Mike Cox and Aric Nesbitt, also have enough signatures, according to bureau staff.
In a social media post, Johnson thanked supporters who helped gather his petition signatures and encouraged Rebandt to take his “fight” to the Board of Canvassers — Johnson sued the board when he was disqualified in 2022 due to a signature fraud scandal that cost several candidates a spot on the ballot.
Rebandt did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The findings
To review petitions, Michigan Bureau of Elections staff select a statistically valid random sample of signatures and scrutinize them closely. They then apply that proportion to the total number of signatures required to estimate the number that were valid before considering challenges by other interested parties.
Gubernatorial candidates need to submit 15,000 valid signatures to make the ballot, but most major candidates submit close to the maximum allowed, 30,000, giving them substantial breathing room in case some are invalidated.
That may have proved a fatal mistake for Rebandt. He submitted a little more than 18,000 signatures, and after reviewing a 750-signature sample, officials estimated only 12,944 were valid — less than the 15,000 required.
In his sample, 110 people weren’t registered to vote in the city or township listed on the petition they signed.
Thomas, a relatively unknown long shot candidate, turned in less than 18,000 signatures. Officials estimated that fewer than 1,500 of her signatures were valid — just 8% of those she had submitted to the state.
“There were several indications that the petition contains thousands of signatures of dubious authenticity on sheets showing clear indications of fraud,” according to a bureau staff report.
Reached by phone Wednesday evening, Thomas told Bridge Michigan she had not seen the report but was “quite confident in the work of my volunteers, of our canvassers, and we will assess it.”
She added: “I’m sure we’ll still be on the ballot.”
There were readily visible issues with signatures on the petition sheets Thomas submitted, and staff indicated the petitions had been referred to Michigan Department of State investigators for further scrutiny “and possible referral to law enforcement for criminal investigation of the apparent fraud.”
Staff did not have reason to believe Thomas was aware of the possible fraud, according to a report.
While the 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary was rocked by a massive signature fraud scandal, which saw five of 10 candidates disqualified and petition contractors sent to prison, reports released by the bureau on Wednesday did not indicate such widespread issues.
Bureau staff rebuffed some of the claims in a signature challenge filed against James, writing that “there is a very low likelihood of fraudulent circulator activity by most of the challenged circulators.”
Similarly, they analyzed signatures submitted by Johnson that a pro-James super PAC had challenged on the grounds of potential fraud, but found more than three-quarters of the signatures matched Michigan’s Qualified Voter File.
Independent candidate Mike Duggan did not have to submit signatures last month because he is not running in a partisan primary. Instead, he must file at least 12,000 signatures by July 16 for a spot on the November general election ballot.
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