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U.S. Rep. John Conyers' on-again, off-again roller coaster ride for the Aug. 5 ballot took a new twist Friday when U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman put him back on back on the ballot,His decision, released late Friday, contradicts the Secretary of State's review of Conyers petition, which found earlier in the day that Conyers had less than half the required signatures of valid registered voters on the petitions he turned in to qualify for the Aug. 5 primary ballot.
But Leitman said the signatures from at least two ciruclators who were found to have not registered properly to vote, a requirement under state law, should be reinstated, giving Conyers enough valid signatures to be on the ballot.
"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," Leitman said in his ruling.
"As Secretary (of State Ruth) Johnson implicitly acknowledged in her ruling issued today, if the signatures excluded pursuant to the Registration Statute may not be excluded from Mr. Conyers' total – and this Court holds that they may not be – then Mr. Conyers has enough signatures to qualify for placement on the ballot," Leitman added. "He shall be placed on the ballot."
The ruling ended a day in which the SOS confirmed a decision last week from Wayine County Clerk Cathy Garret that he didn't have enough signatures to qualify for the Aug. 5 primary ballot.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/05/23/conyers-primary-ballot/9505849/
And people wonder why there is no confidence in the election system....Don't have enough valid signatures to get on the ballot? Well, no problem, just get your appeal in front of a friendly judge, and presto! You're in!