One of the candidates seeking a nomination to represent a portion of Livingston County in Lansing has been dropped from the August primary ballot.
The Michigan Department of State (SOS) on Tuesday issued letters to 15 candidates that they will be disqualified from the August 2, 2022, Primary Election ballot because of defects on their affidavit of identity.
Included on that list is Chase Turner of Northville, who had been seeking the GOP nomination for the 49th State House district that includes Green Oak and Brighton townships as well as the City of Brighton in Livingston County, along with a slice of Oakland County that extends eastward through Lyon Township into Wixom and then on to Walled Lake.
The SOS says Turner was disqualified because of false statements regarding his compliance with the Michigan Campaign Finance Act, although no details were provided. The only other Republican in that race is Current 42nd District State Representative Ann Bollin of Brighton Township.
As it stands now, Bollin and Brighton Township photographer Christina Kafkakis will face off for the seat in November, as Kafkakis is the lone Democrat running for that spot.
According to a SOS press release, Michigan Election Law requires candidates filing for office to state that “as of the date of the affidavit, all statements, reports, late filing fees, and fines required of the candidate or any candidate committee organized to support the candidate’s election under the Michigan campaign finance act … have been filed or paid.” The Election Law also states that “An officer shall not certify … the name of a candidate who executes an affidavit of identity that contains a false statement.”
Turner was one of 11 candidates who had outstanding campaign finance reports or unpaid fines at the time they signed the affidavit of identity. Some of the candidates paid fines after signing their affidavit of identity, or subsequently paid their fines, then withdrew their affidavits of identity and filed new affidavits of identity. Regardless of steps the candidates took after submitting affidavits of identity with false statements, the Department says it is prohibited by the Michigan Election Law from certifying the candidates’ names to the ballots for this election because they executed an affidavit of identity containing a false statement.
