Whitmer, Nessel Recall Efforts Denied By MI Board Of Canvassers

LANSING, MI — Recall efforts against two of Michigan's top Democratic elected officials were rejected Tuesday by the Michigan Board of Canvassers, which cited clerical and spelling mistakes as well as a lack of factual clarity in the recall petition filings.

The board voted unanimously 4-0 to reject both recall efforts against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state's attorney general Dana Nessel.

"It really isn't that difficult to put proper spelling and grammar in these things, and if these folks are serious about these actions, they should take the additional time to maybe have somebody take a look at this, and make sure that the spelling is correct that the grammar is correct, so that we can offer a serious decision," Republican board member Tony Daunt said at the meeting.

The recall effort for Whitmer was filed by Hannah Curley and focused on her use of executive orders. The effort against Nessel related to her charging Owosso barber Karl Manke and Marlena Pavlos-Hackney, owner of Marlena’s Bistro and Pizzeria in Holland, for violating COVID-19 restrictions.

Multiple spelling errors were made in both filings, canvassers said.

"Recalling an elected official is serious business, and it should be done in a professional way," said Julie Matuzak, a Democrat and the board's vice-chair, "and we have had numerous meetings about grammatical and spelling errors."

Two recall efforts against Whitmer have been launched this year. The recall attempt discussed by the board of state canvassers Tuesday was the second to be rejected by the board; an earlier recall effort was rejected on May 14.

The governor faced 20 recall efforts in 2020, according to Ballotpedia, 10 of which were rejected by the Michigan Board of Canvassers. Another was withdrawn and nine were ended.

Three recall efforts against Nessel were launched in 2021. Two of those efforts were rejected by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers at its May 14 meeting.

In order to successfully petition for a recall, one would need to acquire 1,062,647 — or 25 percent of the votes received when elected.