Flint, Michigan, has four candidates who filed in the non-partisan Mayoral election. The Michigan Secretary of State has told Flint election officials to remove three of them from the ballot, leaving only one candidate on the ballot. See this story. Local election officials thought the filing deadline was April 28, and advised the candidates of that date. But that was an error; the true deadline was April 21. Thanks to Nicholas Madaj for the link.
This story proves two things. (1) Candidates should not (though should be able to do so) rely upon bureaucrats to advise what the election law is. (2) That city clerk was able to but them on the ballot shows that the deadline date was earlier than it could have been and still allowed time to prepare the ballot. Thus one reason for early filing deadlines (need time to prepare ballot) is often phony. AND,
I’ll beat Demo Rep to the point – there is no penalty for bureaucrats who misstate election law when candidates or harmed.
“Gee Batman, this is the very same SoS that kept Gary Johnson off the Michigan presidential ballot in 2012! ” – Robin
“Yes old chum she is about as clueless as Aunt Harriet.”- Batman
“Well said, sir.” – Alfred
It is not at all clear that the city clerk has prepared a ballot or that the city clerk is even responsible for preparing the ballot, or that any petitions have been checked.
The one candidate who did file before the deadline isn’t sure that he had enough signatures before the deadline, since he kept bringing in additional petitions. It may have been an oddity that he made his initial filing two weeks before the real deadline, three weeks before the advertized one, when he knew he was short.
It is sad that there are no penalties when election officials give out erroneous information to candidates that causes the candidates irreparable harm. It’s strange that when candidates fail to comply correctly to the election laws, they can be penalized. A classic case of “Double Standard” if there ever was one.
Hopefully, the candidates whose name are being left off the ballot – especially if they turned in sufficient signatures – will join together in a joint suit, to force the City Clerk to include their names on the ballot. Not holding my breath, but I say we have to fight the establishment when they do us wrong.
I think it is kind of an indictment of election laws throughout the US when the very people who are in charge of them don’t understand them.