Donald Trump was right. I never thought I’d write those words, but he did warn us that there was a “giant scam” in Michigan involving the state’s election. Of course, Trump made that claim about the 2020 presidential election in the state, where he lost by over 150,000 votes.
The bureau said the fraud was so widespread that after it struck the invalid signatures, five of the 10 candidates were lacking the requisite 15,000 valid signatures needed to remain on the ballot.
While that assertion was false — per numerous audits, lawsuits and a 55-page report the Republican-led Michigan Senate released in 2021 debunking each of Trump’s election lies — there is actually a significant election scandal in the state. But it involves the 2022 election for governor and Republicans, including some who have peddled Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. Ah, karma.
To get on this year's ballot for governor in Michigan, state law required candidates to collect at least 15,000 signatures from registered voters and submit them by the April 19 deadline. Securing that many valid signatures in a state of over 8 million registered voters shouldn’t be that hard. That is, apparently unless you are one of the 10 Republican candidates running to take on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
The state’s Bureau of Elections, which reviews the submitted petitions to ensure the signatures are valid, said after examining the petitions of the GOP gubernatorial candidates that it found a “volume of fraudulent petition...
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