Thread: LONG-TIME DEM REP. JOHN CONYERS FAILS TO QUALIFY FOR ELECTION BALLOT

LONG-TIME DEM REP. JOHN CONYERS FAILS TO QUALIFY FOR ELECTION BALLOT



by WARNER TODD HUSTON
10 May 2014

Wayne County, Michigan officials reported this weekend that long-time Detroit Democrat Representative John Conyers didn't submit enough signatures to qualify for the ballot this year.

Authorities say Conyers was 400 signatures short of having enough to qualify to run for re-election. Many of the signatures were thrown out because some of his signature-gatherers were not registered to vote in Michigan as required by law.

This violation of the state's election law was brought to light by Conyers' Democrat opponent, Horace Sheffield, who filed a complaint with the state after he learned that some of Conyers' petition gatherers were not legal voters in accordance with the law.

The Congressman's legal team is appealing the election board decision, but it isn't likely he will be able to suddenly find over 400 new signatures to meet requirements.

This isn't the first time a sitting Congressman missed his ballot signature requirement in the Wolverine State. In April of 2011, Republican Representative Thaddeus McCotter also ended up missing the signature limit on his nomination petitions, causing him to lose his place on the ballot.

McCotter had an additional problem that year, too. When it was discovered internally that he didn't have enough signatures to stay on the ballot, his staff tried to manufacture the needed number. But the Michigan Secretary of State caught the attempt and ruled that the 9-year incumbent did not qualify for the ballot.

A year after he left office, McCotter filed a lawsuit against his former aides, claiming that they purposefully tried to engineer the loss of his seat. He always insisted he never knew that his staff manufactured fraudulent petitions.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...lection-Ballot

Long-time Dem Rep. Conyers loses appeal to get on ballot

Published May 23, 2014 FoxNews.com

Nov. 6, 2012: Rep. John Conyers addresses supporters in Detroit.AP

Michigan Rep. John Conyers, one of the longest-serving Democrats in Congress, lost his appeal Friday to get on the August primary ballot after state officials found problems with his nominating petitions.

The decision is a blow for Conyers and fellow Democrats, who are scrambling to find a way to keep the long-time incumbent in the House. One possibility is for Conyers to mount a write-in campaign, which can be an uphill climb.

The decision came down Friday from the Secretary of State's office. The office determined that Detroit-area officials were correct in keeping Conyers off the ballot, since he "failed to submit" a minimum of 1,000 signatures to qualify.

Wayne County officials had said there were problems with some people who collected signatures -- the circulators weren't registered to vote or had listed a wrong registration address.

Under Michigan law, that can spoil petitions.

Before deciding whether to go the write-in route, Conyers is still awaiting the decision of a federal judge who is expected to rule later Friday on Conyers' request to throw out the Michigan election law as unconstitutional.

Killing Conyers' career that way is "pretty outrageous," his lawyer, John Pirich, said this week.

But political opponents aren't upset. An attorney for a Democratic challenger, the Rev. Horace Sheffield III, said Conyers for decades had no problem following the law.

"In essence, they played the game, lost and then complained that the rules were unfair," Eric Doster said, quoting a Virginia judge.

If Conyers cannot get back on the ballot -- and win -- or mount a successful write-in campaign, it would end a 50-year career in Congress. He is the second most-senior member of the House, only to Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., who is already retiring.

If Conyers goes, Michigan would lose a staggering 184 years of congressional service just among five members.

The ballot problems, though, are not unprecedented.

In 2012, another Michigan congressman, Republican Thad McCotter of suburban Detroit, didn't make the ballot because a staff member turned in phony signatures or ones from old petitions.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014...get-on-ballot/

Veteran Rep. John Conyers can appear on Michigan ballot, judge rules


Rep. John Conyers Jr. speaks to the media at the Capitol in Washington on Thursday. (Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA)

MICHAEL A. MEMOLIcontact the reporter

Judge rules Rep. John Conyers Jr. should appear on Michigan ballot

Veteran Rep. John Conyers Jr. restored to Michigan ballot after court decision

A federal judge ordered that Michigan Rep. John Conyers Jr.'s name be placed on the state's primary election ballot, likely sparing the veteran Democrat the need to mount a write-in campaign.

Related story: Obama to nominate Julian Castro to Cabinet post FridayKathleen Hennessey


Just hours earlier, Michigan's secretary of state agreed with a county election official's decision to disqualify Conyers, since he failed to meet the requirement of submitting 1,000 valid signatures with his candidacy filing. Conyers had submitted 2,000 signatures, but only 455 were deemed to be valid, in part because some of the individuals who collected them were not registered voters as state law requires.

Judge Matthew Leitman, who sits on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, sided with Conyers supporters' argument that the requirement that signature gatherers be registered voters was unconstitutional, citing a 2008 appeals court decision on a similar case in Ohio. If the 765 signatures ruled invalid because of the registration issue were counted, Conyers would exceed the required total and qualify for the Aug. 5 ballot, Leitman found.

The state has the right to appeal the decision.

Conyers, first elected in 1964 to represent the Detroit area in Congress, would be the heavy favorite to stay in office if not for the petition issue. He is in line to become the longest serving member of the body, which brings the honorary title of Dean of the House, when fellow Michigan Democrat John Dingell retires at the end of his current term.

Before the court ruling, Conyers' campaign said it was prepared to wage a write-in effort if necessary.

"The situation has energized the campaign," said Conyers spokesman Ron Scott. "Mr. Conyers is ready and willing. He's more excited than he's been in 50 years."

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nation...523-story.html

Michelle Malkin




'The fix was in': Activist judge puts disqualified Rep. John Conyers on primary ballot

"Laws are for little people."
Twitchy

Tweets / story at the Page Link:

http://twitchy.com/2014/05/23/the-fi...rimary-ballot/

Mark Levin

Corrupt



REPORT: Judge puts Conyers on primary ballot, Twitter in disbelief

Twitter is pretty much in disbelief and I can't blame them: BREAKING: Judge...
therightscoop.com

REPORT: Judge puts Conyers on primary ballot, Twitter in disbelief


Posted on May 23, 2014 at 4:35 PM in Politics | 178 Comments
By The Right Scoop

Twitter is pretty much in disbelief and I can’t blame them:

Steven Portnoy ✔ @stevenportnoy Follow BREAKING: Federal judge orders John Conyers on the ballot, overruling Michigan secretary of state.
4:31 PM - 23 May 2014

The Associated Press ✔ @AP Follow BREAKING: Judge puts US Rep. John Conyers on primary ballot.
4:29 PM - 23 May 2014

RB @RBPundit Follow Uh. RT @AP_Ken_Thomas: DETROIT (AP) _ Judge puts US Rep. John Conyers on primary ballot.
4:29 PM - 23 May 2014

Matthew @Matthops82 Follow Ummm.... RT @ZekeJMiller: DETROIT (AP) - Judge puts US Rep. John Conyers on primary ballot.
4:29 PM - 23 May 2014

Christy @desertgardens Follow ?? RT @AP: BREAKING: Judge puts US Rep. John Conyers on primary ballot.
4:30 PM - 23 May 2014

Noah Rothman @NoahCRothman Follow Wait, what? RT @AP: BREAKING: Judge puts US Rep. John Conyers on primary ballot.
4:30 PM - 23 May 2014

DanRiehl @DanRiehl Follow Wait, wut? RT @AP: BREAKING: Judge puts US Rep. John Conyers on primary ballot.
4:30 PM - 23 May 2014

Noah Rothman @NoahCRothman Follow Rules Smules. You tried, and that's what matters. RT @AP: BREAKING: Judge puts US Rep. John Conyers on primary ballot.
4:30 PM - 23 May 2014

RB @RBPundit Follow CORRUPTION: John Conyers did not get valid signatures to get on ballot. Election board says no. Judge puts him on anyway.
4:30 PM - 23 May 2014

Matthew @Matthops82 Follow It's a good thing our country is run by the Judicial branch... *eye roll*
4:33 PM - 23 May 2014

http://therightscoop.com/report-judg...-in-disbelief/

Federal Judge Rejects State Election Law, Puts John Conyers Back on Primary Ballot


by Warner Todd Huston 23 May 2014 773 post a comment
This election year, Democrat and longtime Congressman John Conyers did not satisfy Michigan election law by getting enough valid signatures on his nomination petitions, so the state ruled he did not qualify for the ballot. Now a federal judge has vacated the state's decision and put Conyers back on the ballot.

The Congressman's 49-year career was threatened with a sudden ending if he did not make the primary ballot, but Conyers can now breathe a sigh of relief as a federal judge has stepped in to challenge state authorities.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman, an Obama nominee who has only been on the bench for two months, is now insisting that some of the state's findings are incorrect.
Citing Conyers's "good intentions," Judge Leitman said in his Friday afternoon ruling, "There is evidence that their failure to comply with the Registration Statute was the result of good faith mistakes and that they believed they were in compliance with the statute."
On May 9, Wayne County, Michigan, officials determined that Conyers was just over 500 signatures short of having enough to qualify for the ballot and suggested to the state election board that his name should be removed.
County and state officials determined that several of Conyers's signature-gatherers did not legally qualify for the role, meaning that all the signatures they gathered were invalid. It was discovered that several of these campaign workers were not registered to vote in Michigan or did not live at the addresses that they gave to authorities, both violations of rules governing petition circulators.
Due to the violations of state election laws, by Friday morning, May 23, Michigan's Secretary of State formally determined that Conyers's name would not appear on the 2014 Democratic primary ballot.
In denying Conyers his spot on the ballot, the Secretary of State said that it found "clear examples of the failure to follow the basics, something that thousands of campaigns have routinely done since 1966."
"The Michigan Election Law is designed to protect the purity of the ballot access process," the Secretary of State's review said. "The laws governing this activity place affirmative duties on petition circulators. As evidenced over the past two election cycles, when campaigns fail to comply with the law by executing basic principles of petition circulation, they create their own 'ballot access crisis' when their failures are discovered by or brought to the attention of election officials. In this instance, consultant Steve Hood freely admitted that he failed to ensure that the petition circulators he hired to work on Conyers' campaign were registered to vote."
Despite the state's legal findings on the very same day that state election authorities determined that Conyers did not belong on the ballot, the Obama-appointed federal judge reversed that decision and insisted he be placed there anyway.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Governm...Primary-Ballot

Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7

Federal Judge Rejects State Election Law, Puts John Conyers Back on Primary Ballot



Citing Conyers's "good intentions," Judge Leitman said in his Friday afternoon ruling, "There is evidence that their failure to comply with the Registration Statute was the result of good faith mistakes and that they believed they were in compliance with the statute."
On May 9, Wayne County, Michigan, officials determined that Conyers was just over 500 signatures short of having enough to qualify for the ballot and suggested to the state election board that his name should be removed.

Wow, so now "good intentions" and "good faith mistakes" mean not having to obey the law. I'm sure many criminals in prisons will be glad to hear that.

Don't they know? The road to hell is paved with good intentions!

Rules – Who Needs ‘Em? Federal Judge Allowing Longtime Rep To Run Despite Lacking Required Signatures

By Caroline Schaeffer 7 hours ago



News broke earlier this month that the second-longest serving member of the House of Representatives would not be able to run for reelection after failing to obtain the required number of signatures on his nominating petitions. In fact, he had less than half of those required.
But the man in question, John Conyers, Jr., a Democrat representing the Detroit area, has proven that rules were meant to be broken, because a federal judge has just decided that Conyers will be allowed to be on the Democratic primary ballot in August, according to NY Daily News. The decision came hours after Michigan’s Secretary of State declined to put him on the ballot.
Regardless of Conyers’ party, he didn’t follow the rules, and should not be on the ballot. This is the perfect example of why the American public has a deep distrust of politicians and the political process – those in power will lie, cheat, and steal to stay there!

http://www.ijreview.com/2014/05/1414...ed-signatures/