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| John James. Perry Johnson |
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan’s Republican gubernatorial race is once again facing scrutiny over petition signatures after formal challenges were filed against two of the party’s leading candidates, John James and Perry Johnson, alleging forged signatures, duplicate entries, circulator fraud, and widespread petition irregularities.
The complaints filed with the Michigan Bureau of Elections have revived memories of the massive 2022 petition fraud scandal that removed several Republican gubernatorial hopefuls from the ballot, including Johnson.
Candidates for governor in Michigan are required to submit at least 15,000 valid signatures to qualify for the August primary ballot. Both James and Johnson reportedly turned in significantly more than the minimum threshold, but state election officials are now reviewing random samples of the submitted petitions to determine whether enough valid signatures remain.
A challenge filed by the pro-James super PAC Mission Michigan alleges Johnson’s campaign submitted petitions containing “duplicate signatures, signature errors, obvious forgeries, numerous jurisdictional issues,” and signatures gathered by circulators allegedly tied to prior fraudulent petition activity.
According to the complaint, more than 14,200 signatures connected to Johnson should be invalidated. The filing argues that if the questioned signatures are removed, Johnson could fall roughly 450 signatures below the required threshold needed to appear on the ballot.
The complaint further alleges more than 6,000 signatures should be thrown out due to alleged circulator fraud, while another 4,500 signatures allegedly came from addresses that did not match voter registration records. The filing also claims at least two circulators connected to Johnson’s campaign had previously appeared on Bureau of Elections fraud-related lists.
Johnson, who owns a registrar firm and has publicly referred to himself as a “quality guru,” previously defended his campaign’s petition process.
“I’m the quality guru, so I better get quality petitions,” Johnson said while submitting signatures in April.
Meanwhile, a separate challenge against James’ campaign was signed by metro Detroit conservative activist Glenn Clark, a Johnson supporter, and alleges “extensive irregularities” in James’ petitions.
The complaint against James alleges signatures from deceased individuals, duplicate signatures, apparent forgeries, fraudulent circulators, and “numerous address and jurisdictional issues.” The filing also accuses James’ operation of engaging in what it described as “roundtabling fraud,” a practice in which circulators allegedly pass petitions among multiple individuals to create variations in handwriting styles.
The challenge specifically alleges campaign political director Tyler Foti engaged in circulator fraud and claims at least 600 signatures in the reviewed sample showed evidence of potential roundtabling activity.
One allegation included in the filing claims a petition sheet contained the signature of a voter who died in 2022, years before James announced his gubernatorial campaign. The complaint also states multiple voters signed affidavits claiming they never signed James petitions.
James’ campaign rejected the allegations and called the challenge politically motivated.
Campaign manager Jackson Gross dismissed the complaint as “not serious” and accused Johnson allies of attempting to “manufacture distractions.”
Both campaigns have insisted they conducted internal quality control and verification procedures before submitting signatures. James previously stated his campaign performed multiple validation exercises to ensure it remained well above the 15,000-signature requirement.
The Michigan Bureau of Elections is expected to complete its statistical review of the petitions before presenting recommendations to the bipartisan Michigan Board of State Canvassers later this month. The board is scheduled to meet May 28 to determine whether candidates qualify for the August primary ballot.
The renewed controversy highlights lingering concerns over Michigan’s petition system after the unprecedented 2022 fraud scandal, when forged signatures submitted by professional circulators resulted in five Republican gubernatorial candidates being removed from the ballot. Johnson was among those disqualified in that election cycle.
Sources: Michigan Bureau of Elections filings, Michigan Board of State Canvassers complaint filings, voter affidavits submitted with petition challenges, campaign statements.
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