Santana now calls for an official recount, alleging that "there were numerous irregularities and errors that occurred" during the convention in Detroit. The state senator calls for an external firm to conduct the audit. 

The appeal, filed with the Michigan Democratic Party Appeals Committee, calls for an audited recount of every convention race to "ensure voter confidence in the election results." A recount may flip the endorsement for one of the incumbents in favor of Santana — an unusual measure for a state party endorsement convention. 

The 53-page May 2 filing obtained by The State News reviewed location data tied to voting devices and found that more than 200 votes were cast remotely, violating party rules. Voters are required to be present at the convention when they cast their votes, according to the Michigan Democratic Party. 

 "Petitioners learned that members were voting from as far away as Montenegro and Antrim County during the convention," the filing reads.

Former U.S. House candidate Cathy Albro told The Detroit News she was able to cast her vote from her home in northern Michigan using the electronic voting system the convention used.

Among the petitioners who signed the filing is MSU Trustee Dennis Denno. Santana has longtime thrown her support behind Denno's colleague, Trustee Rema Vassar. In 2024, Santana wrote a letter to the Michigan Attorney General questioning the board's decision to censure Vassar following a third party investigation into misconduct. 

It’s a timely divide, as Denno opposes Tebay Zemke and Scott on a myriad of public issues, including the future of the university's general council, as well as transparency concerns with MSU’s new for-profit athletic entity, Spartan Media Ventures. 

Denno declined to comment on the filing. 

Adrian Hemond, a Lansing-based political consultant, said he can't speak to Denno's motivations, but said that the board has been "greasy" for over a decade and "this is just a continuation of that."

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.

The unofficial voter results within the filing revealed that the path to endorsement may have also been more strenuous than previously expected for at least one of the incumbents. Scott received over a third of the vote for endorsement with 38.1%, 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. 

If those 200 votes weren't counted, Santana would win by 50 votes, her campaign argued in the filing.

The Michigan Democratic Party stands behind the results. "Per the party’s rules, an appeals committee is reviewing the submitted appeal and must schedule a meeting within 30 days to determine next steps. MDP has conducted a detailed review of the voting and we continue to remain confident in the results," wrote Derrick Honeyman, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, in a statement to The State News. 

Valerie Von Frank, the director of Parents of Sister Survivors Engage, an advocacy group representing the parents of Larry Nassar survivors, signed the petition for a recount.

"Just 15 votes, and there were 7,200 people there," Von Frank said. "That’s just too close."

Mary Schulz, the election manager for POSSE, estimated some delegates waited nearly two hours to cast their ballots. 

"I stood in line, along with what looked like hundreds of people standing in line to vote," Shulz said.

Pressure for an audit into the results of the convention surged when Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel questioned the accuracy of Election Buddy last week. Nessel said that Election Buddy did not accurately attribute her vote or congressional district within its system and supported Santana's call for an independent audit.  

Apps like Election Buddy are used in other states, but it is "heterogeneous" how conventions use them, Hemond said. The rules and methodology vary by state. 

In addition to the technical difficulties of voting, the filing alleges that "one email or phone number could have been used for multiple people" meaning "one person had the ability to cast multiple votes." The filing also alleges that over 300 registered voter addresses could not be verified. 

An affidavit included in the filing from Rochella Stewart, a member of MDP, wrote she received six "access key numbers" to cast a vote on the day of the convention. 

Hemond pointed out that it is "not unprecedented that there would be disputes about the voting at a convention" but said that these circumstances are "unusual."

Tebay Zemke could not be reached for comment at time of publication. Scott declined requests for comment.