Judge denies Perry Johnson's request to get on August primary ballot

Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press
·3 min read
1

Like already-tossed lawsuits at the state level, a longshot challenge in federal court from Republican gubernatorial candidate Perry Johnson was denied Monday, likely ending the Oakland County businessman’s bid to get on the primary ballot in August.

Johnson’s suit, filed June 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, was tossed on account of the campaign's failure to demonstrate the Michigan Bureau of Elections did not adequately assess the validity of signatures submitted to get on the ballot, U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith wrote in his opinion.

In the lawsuit, Johnson argued because the Bureau did not individually review each of the signatures submitted by his campaign against the state's Qualified Voter File, it was unfair to disqualify him from the ballot.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Perry Johnson during the MIGOP State Convention at the DeVos Place in Grand Rapids on April 23, 2022.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Perry Johnson during the MIGOP State Convention at the DeVos Place in Grand Rapids on April 23, 2022.

When reviewing signatures, Bureau staff identified issues with those submitted by some circulators, leading the Bureau to toss all the signatures submitted by those circulators. Election staff argued the presumption that signatures are valid is forfeited when a signature circulator intentionally commits fraud.

Goldsmith agreed with lower court opinions that Bureau staff was not obligated to individually review each signature if there was suspected fraud from circulators.

"These accusations mischaracterize the deliberate and objective methodology employed by the state agency tasked with enforcing election laws," Goldsmith wrote. "The BOE utilizes established procedures for determining whether candidates have submitted sufficient valid nominating petitions. The BOE enhanced these procedures in response to its observation of an unprecedented intrusion of fraud.

"Contrary to Johnson’s charge that the BOE was invalidating signatures 'without any  review whatsoever,' the BOE reviewed all signatures submitted by fraudulent-petition circulators under the supervision of staff experienced in signature review, and then it engaged in the more intensive process of double-checking thousands of these signatures against the QVF."

The lawsuit asked the court to get Johnson on the ballot through a variety of legal procedures — he asked the court to declare Michigan law requiring 15,000 valid signatures to run for governor unconstitutional as applied to him; issue an order stopping state election officials from enforcing the 15,000 signature requirement for candidates to get on the ballot; issue an order putting his name on the ballot or decreasing the signature requirements, and stop the state from printing ballots until he has had the chance to argue his case.

The court's decision not to grant relief to Johnson likely ends his pursuit to appear on the primary ballot after his past efforts in state court were also unsuccessful. Johnson could pursue a write-in campaign, as James Craig, who also was disqualified from appearing on the ballot, announced he would last week.

Previous attempts by Johnson to get on the August primary ballot included a lawsuit filed in the Michigan Court of Appeals and a subsequent appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court, where justices declined to hear the case, along with similar appeals from fellow-disqualified candidates Craig, Donna Brandeburg and Michael Markey.

Johnson was one of five Republicans aiming for governor left off the ballot after an unprecedented signature fraud scandal rocked the race. The Michigan Bureau of Elections announced May 23 it found issues with signatures submitted by Johnson, Craig, Markey, Brandenburg and Michael Brown, leaving them short of the 15,000 valid signatures needed to qualify for the primary ballot.

Johnson's campaign turned in over 23,000 signatures, but Bureau of Elections staff found around 9,400 of the signatures to be invalid, leaving Johnson short of the 15,000 required to get on the ballot.

Five candidates will appear on the Republican primary ballot to face Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this November —  Norton Shores businesswoman Tudor Dixon, Ottawa County real estate agent Ryan Kelley, Farmington Hills pastor Ralph Rebandt, Bloomfield Hills businessman Kevin Rinke and Kalamazoo chiropractor Garrett Soldano.

Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @arpanlobo. Become a subscriber today.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Perry Johnson appeal to get on GOP governor primary ballot dismissed