© 2024 MICHIGAN PUBLIC
91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

State appeals federal judge’s order to put independent on ballot

Christopher Graveline
cg4ag.com

The Michigan Secretary of State is appealing a federal judge’s ruling that an independent candidate must go on the November ballot – despite not having enough valid signatures to qualify.

A federal court recently said that Christopher Graveline must appear on the November ballot if at least 5-thousand of the signatures he submitted are valid. Graveline got more than that, but only about half of the signatures an independent would normally need to get on the ballot in the state Attorney General race. So he sued the state.

The lower court said the current requirements for a non-party affiliated candidates have resulted in no independent candidates on ballots.

Now the state is appealing the decision – and wants the judge’s order to put Graveline on the ballot on hold.

The deadline for the state to certify the November ballot is about a week away.

Before becoming the newest Capitol reporter for the Michigan Public Radio Network, Cheyna Roth was an attorney. She spent her days fighting it out in court as an assistant prosecuting attorney for Ionia County. Eventually, Cheyna took her investigative and interview skills and moved on to journalism. She got her masters at Michigan State University and was a documentary filmmaker, podcaster, and freelance writer before finding her home with NPR. Very soon after joining MPRN, Cheyna started covering the 2016 presidential election, chasing after Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and all their surrogates as they duked it out for Michigan. Cheyna also focuses on the Legislature and criminal justice issues for MPRN. Cheyna is obsessively curious, a passionate storyteller, and an occasional backpacker. Follow her on Twitter at @Cheyna_R
Related Content