In a move that defied previous expectations, Ingham County temporarily put a stop to recall efforts targeting two of East Lansing’s state-level politicians.
On Monday, the county’s election commission denied a recall petition targeting State Sen. Minority Leader Gretchen Whitmer a week after they denied a similar petition for State Rep. Mark Meadows, both East Lansing Democrats.
Although the decisions only temporarily stop the recall efforts — petitions can be fine-tuned and resubmitted an unlimited number of times — enraged election officials have been placing recall petitions under an increasing amount of scrutiny as they become more commonplace as political tools.
“I hope with today’s decision we can finally slam the door on these recall stunts and focus on creating jobs, strengthening our economy and moving Michigan forward,” Whitmer said in a statement Monday.
The decision follows a trend of politically charged recalls. In the last year, the number of recall petitions submitted in Ingham County has soared, election officials said.
“We have really been inundated with recall petitions the last several months,” Ingham County Clerk Mike Bryanton said. “The whole thing disgusts me, both sides.”
The recalls are aimed to stop Democrats from blocking the agenda of Republican legislative leaders, Stu Sandler, a consultant for the Michigan Republican Party representing the petitioners, told The State News in an earlier interview.
“If Democrats and special interests continue to block, people are still going to make their concerns heard,” he said.
Both Meadows and Whitmer previously had multiple petitions filed against them before the most current ones, all of which had been denied.
Members of the three-seat elections commission, including Bryanton, said these and other petitions in the past have included politically twisted language that make the reasoning unclear.
“People are using recalls for everything,” said Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing, who also sits on the elections commission. “This year is off the charts.”
The wave of about a dozen recalls targeting Democratic legislators comes after the Michigan Education Association supported recall efforts against Republicans this summer.
The recent recall efforts highlight a broken system in Michigan, said Bill Ballenger, editor of statewide political newsletter Inside Michigan Politics.
Many, including those against Whitmer and Meadows, largely have been based on single votes.
“This defies all the traditional logic of why you would undertake a recall election,” Ballenger said. “We’re getting worse rather than better.”
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
