The Bureau of Elections issued a report today claiming the Fair and Equal Michigan campaign is short of the required signatures necessary to reach the ballot. Campaign spokesperson Josh Hovey issued the following statement in response:
"The Bureau of Elections threw out thousands of signatures that are valid and we will fight for every valid signature so no voters are disenfranchised. The Department of State has failed to issue rules as mandated by the Legislature since 2005 to establish standards for determining the validity of petition signatures. For this reason, any determination made by the Department staff is inconsistent with the requirements of Michigan's election law," said Hovey.
The campaign sent a letter to Secretary Benson on May 19 asking that she issue rules for the certification of initiative petitions as required by state law.
"Today's announcement makes clear that Secretary Benson made no effort to respond to our request or to follow the law established by the Michigan legislature," Hovey said.
Fair and Equal Michigan will provide a detailed and emphatic response to the Bureau of Elections' report on Tuesday, July 13.