On Monday, August 23, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers will hear statements from people who argue that the Tea Party should be kept off the ballot. The objectors say the party’s name is ambiguous, that in some documents it is “The Tea Party” but on the petition it is just “Tea Party.” They also argue that although the petition has enough valid signatures, that the petition should still be invalidated because the circulators did not explain to the signers that the pressure group known as the Tea Party is not the same as the political party. Finally, the objectors raise points about whether the candidates signed declarations of candidacy before they were nominated, instead of afterwards.
The Michigan Board of State Canvassers is a 4-member body consisting of two Democrats and two Republicans. Thanks to Thomas Jones for this news.
Board of State Canvassers is a 4-member body consisting of two Democrats and two Republicans ……..
and THAT is the core issue!
Which of the Donkey/Elephant gangs has the most fraud/sham candidates in marginal gerrymander districts — U.S.A. – State – Local ???
In Michigan, parties that nominate candidates for the general-election ballot by convention and caucus (rather than by primary) have to file a Certificate of Nomination, signed by the chair and secretary of the convention (or caucus), listing all the candidates nominated at the convention (or caucus) with their offices and addresses. Each candidate must also sign a simple Acceptance of Nomination form and a somewhat more complicated and notarization-required Affidavit of Identity form. Of those three documents, the Affidavit of Identity can be done ahead of time, but the other two kind of depend on the nominations having been done already. . . .
A convention-and-caucus party candidate running for a non-Federal office must also file a Statement of Organization form to report her/his candidate committee’s contact information. This can also be done before the convention or caucus — in fact, that’s required if someone starts spending or raising money, or authorizes someone else to do it for her/him, more than 20 days before the convention/caucus nominates her/him. (To be more nearly precise, spending/raising money or being nominated makes you a candidate; you have up to ten days after you become a candidate to *form* a committee, and up to ten days after you form the committee — or after the first ten days runs out — to file the S of O.)