Concerns over alleged voting violations committed at the annual Democrat State Endorsement convention could have broad implications for the results of the party’s endorsement of two candidates for Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees ahead of the November elections. 

On April 19, over 7,000 delegates gathered at Huntington Place in Detroit to cast their votes to endorse Democratic candidates for a variety of statewide races. Incumbent MSU trustees Brianna Scott and Kelly Tebay Zemke won the endorsement, placing themselves on the November ballot after fending off a challenge by state Sen. Sylvia Santana, D-Detroit.

Unofficial voter results obtained by The Detroit News revealed that the path to endorsement may have been more strenuous than previously expected for at least one of the incumbents. Scott received over a third of the vote for endorsement with 38%, securing her spot ahead of the November elections. Tebay Zemke, however, received 30.9% of the vote to Santana’s 30.8%, winning by a margin of 15 votes. 

The Detroit News reported Tuesday that one delegate said they violated voting rules at the party convention by voting from outside the convention.

“Members were required to be in-person at Huntington Place to credential and vote,” wrote Derrick Honeyman, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, in a statement to The State News. “Any voting that took place off-site is a violation of party rules.” 

Voting at the convention faced numerous challenges, including multiple time delays and difficulty credentialing candidates at registration. The convention used the online voting platform Election Buddy to gather results as delegates cast votes on their phones through an emailed link. Technical difficulties led some to resort to tablets provided by the convention organizers.

"After every (Michigan Democratic Party) election, we conduct a detailed review of the results in collaboration with campaigns,” Honeyman said. “We are confident in the outcome of the endorsement vote, but candidates do have a right to submit a formal appeal until Monday, May 4."

Adrian Hemond, a Lansing-based political consultant, said it would not surprise him at all if Santana filed an appeal ahead of the deadline. 

“There were more than 7,000 people on the convention floor and she lost by 15 votes, so it’s difficult,” Hemond said. 

Still, the case of an endorsement flipping after a state party convention is “exceptionally unusual.”