Bureau of Elections: Citizens-only voting group short of signatures

The group seeking to amend the Michigan Constitution so that non-citizens are blocked and purged from the voter list and require all voters to show identification when voting has fallen short of the needed number valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot, according to Bureau of Elections staff.

The group turned in 709,841 signatures, far exceeding the 446,198 required.

Staff pulled a sample of 1,000 signatures and deemed 308 invalid, mainly because of a missing signature or one that conflicted with the Qualified Voter File, or they were not registered to vote in the city or township indicated. Another common issue was an invalid date on the petition.

Opponents of the proposal further challenged 377 signatures, which led to another 85 signatures getting ruled invalid, mainly for duplication and missing circulator information like a name or complete address or signature. Americans for Citizen Voting Michigan was able to rehabilitate five signatures to bring the number of valid signatures up to 612.

The group needed at least 629 to be valid to qualify. Based on 612 being valid, that would equate to 434,423 valid signatures, 11,775 below the minimum threshold.

The Board of State Canvassers is scheduled to meet Aug. 24 to formally decide whether the petition was sufficient.