Michigan election officials have thrown a serious curveball at two lesser-known candidates for governor, telling the Board of State Canvassers that Democrat Kim Thomas and Republican Ralph Rebandt do not have enough valid signatures to make the August primary ballot. Bureau of Elections staff laid out their findings at a special hearing and urged the board to rule the petitions insufficient. The recommendation is not final, and the four-member board will make the official call after reviewing the evidence and hearing what the campaigns have to say.
Board convened in Lansing to review petitions
The Michigan Department of State called a special meeting of the Board of State Canvassers for today to sort out challenges to nominating petitions and decide whether they pass legal muster, according to the Michigan Department of State. Bureau staff walked canvassers through a face review of petition sheets and pointed to specific pages and circulators flagged during that process. When the board votes at the meeting, it will determine which candidates are officially certified for the August 4 primary ballot.
Staff singled out two candidates
According to reporting from the Detroit Free Press, Bureau of Elections staff told canvassers that Kim Thomas of Battle Creek and Ralph Rebandt of Washington fell short of the 15,000 valid signatures required for major-party gubernatorial hopefuls. Staff reviews focus on whether signatures are facially valid and on petition sheets circulated by people whose work shows suspicious patterns. When entire sheets are tossed, campaigns can lose big chunks of their totals in one shot. Campaigns were given a chance to respond at the hearing and, if the board rules against them, can seek relief in the courts.
Why the signature count matters
Major-party candidates must file at least 15,000 valid signatures to land on Michigan's primary ballot, a benchmark that has put extra pressure on signature collection this cycle, according to Bridge Michigan. The state’s verification process has been under a microscope since a 2022 scandal in which thousands of allegedly fraudulent petition sheets knocked multiple candidates out of contention, triggering criminal referrals and a flurry of court fights. National outlets followed those disqualifications and the legal fallout, and CBS News reported on the earlier cases and the lawsuits they sparked.
Next steps and legal remedies
If the board accepts the bureau's recommendation and rules that the petitions fall short, any candidate who believes they were wrongly kept off the ballot can seek judicial review, including mandamus or certiorari, under Michigan election law, as outlined in MCL 168.552. These disputes typically move quickly because certification and ballot-printing deadlines are looming. For now, today's canvass will determine whether Thomas and Rebandt survive the petition fight or whether the field for governor narrows before the summer primaries.
Whatever the board decides, its ruling will reshape an already contested primary field and is likely to set off rapid legal maneuvering as candidates and challengers race to meet court deadlines. Voters watching Michigan's August primary will get a clearer picture once the board’s certifications are final and any related court battles play out.
