MI Democrats Accuse Republican Candidates Of Forging Signatures To Get On Ballot

MICHIGAN — Michigan Democrats filed petitions against three Republicans, accusing them of duplicating and adding signatures to their paperwork needed in order to quality for the state's primary elections in August.

State Democrats said they found problems with the nominating paperwork filed by former Detroit Police Chief James Craig, businessman Perry Johnson and conservative commentator Tudor Dixon, enough they said to disqualify all three from the Aug. 2 primary.

All three Republican candidates were seeking to challenge Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in November.

"The extensive evidence of fraud and forgery found throughout the nominating petitions submitted by James Craig, Tudor Dixon, and Perry Johnson indicate not only that their irresponsible campaigns are grossly negligent, but that they are not capable of being accountable leaders," Michigan Democrat Party Chair Lavora Barnes said. "The fraud uncovered in just a matter of days demands a full review of nominating petitions from the entire field of gubernatorial candidates."

The primary complaint was against Craig, who Democrats said forged 6,933 signatures across 710 petition sheets. In order to qualify for the primary ballot, a candidate must receive at least 15,000 signatures from registered voters, including at least 100 voters in half of the state’s 14 congressional districts, by its deadline, which was April 19.

If the accusations by Democrats are found to be true, Craig would be disqualified from the nominating process, since he would fall under the required 15,000 needed to participate in the August Primary. He submitted a total of 21,000 signatures on his nominating paperwork.

State Democrats said hundreds of signatures on Craig's nomination petition were incomplete or inaccurate, duplicated or signed by dead voters. In addition, state Democrats said an additional 4,200 signatures were submitted on Craig’s behalf, but were refused due to them being presented 20 minutes past the deadline.

A super PAC supporting Dixon, one of Craig's potential challengers also filed a similar complaint, challenging more than 7,000 of Craig's signatures.

Craig's campaign dismissed the allegations Democrats made against the former police chief.

"This is a last-ditch effort by our opponents who are terrified by chief’s overwhelming grassroots support and momentum," spokesperson Marli Blackman wrote in an email. "We have total confidence in the signatures we submitted, and we look forward to defeating Gov. (Gretchen) Whitmer this fall."

The complaint state Democrats filed against Dixon also accused the candidate of forging signatures and posting inaccurate date information, which "mislead voters" in signing for Dixon's campaign. Democrats highlighted that Dixon's paperwork said the governor's term will end in 2026, which is inaccurate, as the term will end in January 2027.

Although candidate petition forms do not need to include the term's end date, Democrats highlighted the error since it was used in Dixon's paperwork, something they said was misleading voters.

State Democrats also accused Dixon's campaign of forging signatures, including using a campaign official that also gathered dead people's signatures and duplicated names for Craig's campaign.

Dixon's campaign told NBC News Democrats accusations against her were a "desperate, bogus challenge."

"Simply put, Gretchen Whitmer knows I will beat her and the Michigan Democratic Party knows I will beat her," Dixon tweeted. "Fortunately for Michiganders, this bogus petition challenge will fail and I will continue to champion what is true and what is right for Michigan families."

Likewise, state Democrat's complaint against Johnson were similar to Dixon's. They also accused Johnson's campaign of forging signatures and using some of the same campaign officials used on Craig's paperwork to manipulate the forms.

In addition to duplicating names and adding signatures from dead people, state Democrats also accused Johnson's campaign of other paperwork errors, such as voters signatures not matching addresses.

"Even if every absurd accusation made by the Democrats was legitimate, they still failed to challenge enough to impact his ballot access," John Yob, a campaign consultant for Johnson told WDIV. "Perry will be on the ballot and we look forward to seeing the results of the more statistically consequential challenges made of other candidates."

All three Republican campaigns accused of the forgery by state Democrats had until Friday to rebuff those claims. State canvassers on The Bureau of Elections and the Board of Canvassers were expected to rule on the Democrat's petitions sometime this month.