Disqualified Michigan governor candidates failed their first test: Getting on ballot

(Detroit Free Press) MACKINAC ISLAND -- Five of the Republican candidates for governor hoping to participate in a debate on Mackinac Island Thursday didn't make it because they missed the boat — and I'm not talking about the ferry that conveys the swells and politicians from the mainland.

But there was no open weeping or rending of garments at the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual policy conference (and Schmooze Olympics) for James Craig, Perry Johnson, Michael Markey, Donna Brandenburg or Mike Brown after they were bounced from the ballot for turning in too many fraudulent petition signatures.

If anything, there were snickers that presumptive favorites Craig, a former Detroit Police chief expected to run as a no-nonsense law-and-order candidate, and Johnson, a self-professed quality control guru, got bamboozled.

Candidates for governor are required to turn in 15,000 signatures from Michigan voters to earn a spot on the ballot. Most candidates turn in many more — just in case. Yet the election experts at the Michigan Secretary of State ruled that more than 11,000 of Craig's 21,305 signatures and 13,800 of Johnson's 23,193 signatures were no good. ............(more)

https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2022/06/02/disqualified-republican-governor-candidates-ballot/7485194001/