By Ben Solis
Gongwer News Service
A probate judge candidate in Wayne County is suing to compel the Department of State to investigate a competitor’s nominating petition signatures, court records show.
The plaintiff in Mercier v. Secretary of State (COC Docket No. 24-000120) is attorney Daniel Mercier and the target is Todd Briggs, both candidates for the Wayne Probate Court.
Mercier not only wants the department to investigate the genuineness of Briggs’ signatures, but also to reverse the department’s finding that Briggs had 5,560 valid signatures, asserting that he had less.
Mercier challenged the validity of Briggs’ signatures in April, and the Wayne County Clerk on June 5 determined that the candidate had only 5,086 registered signatures. But the Bureau of Elections on June 7 stated that clerk staff determined that he had 5,560 valid signatures after the challenge.
The plaintiff claims that the clerk acknowledged his challenge but “referenced an unsupported allegation made by Briggs in her June 3 ‘Final Determination Letter’ that ‘Mercier’s challenge alleges that circulators must be registered voters or maintain an updated registered voter status at their current residence.’”
“However, the plaintiff never challenged the circulators’ voter registration or residence,” the complaint said. “Rather, the plaintiff challenged the ‘genuineness’ of the circulators’ signatures; questioning whether the person who claimed to have signed the petition was actually the person whose signature appeared on the petition.”
He further contends that the clerk arbitrarily determined that Briggs had enough signatures to be certified. Mercier also argues that the Bureau of Elections shirked their duty to address the issue.
“It is indisputable that the Wayne County Clerk did not conduct an investigation pursuant to her statutory duty under subsection 552(2) and the BOE completely failed to address this issue in its June 7, 2024, decision letter in complete disregard of its statutory duty,” Mercier argued. “The BOE improperly stated ‘your decision to wait until 3:55 p.m. on June 6 – the day before the deadline to finalize the names of candidates on the ballot – to file your appeal would make such an effort impossible.’ … But the plaintiff timely filed his appeal to the BOE, within three days after the clerk issued her final determination that took her five weeks to release after the plaintiff’s April 30 complaint.”
Mercier said the delay was with the clerk, not the plaintiff.
The inaction, he added, was cause for Judge Sima Patel to grant his request for a writ to compel the Bureau to investigate further, and that the finding must include the reversal of the clerk’s determination regarding Briggs.
“The clerk failed to provide sufficient evidence to overcome the presumption that the circulators’ signatures identified in the Mercier complaint are genuine and valid and consequently, her decision must be reversed and remanded,” the complaint said.
Gongwer News Service
A probate judge candidate in Wayne County is suing to compel the Department of State to investigate a competitor’s nominating petition signatures, court records show.
The plaintiff in Mercier v. Secretary of State (COC Docket No. 24-000120) is attorney Daniel Mercier and the target is Todd Briggs, both candidates for the Wayne Probate Court.
Mercier not only wants the department to investigate the genuineness of Briggs’ signatures, but also to reverse the department’s finding that Briggs had 5,560 valid signatures, asserting that he had less.
Mercier challenged the validity of Briggs’ signatures in April, and the Wayne County Clerk on June 5 determined that the candidate had only 5,086 registered signatures. But the Bureau of Elections on June 7 stated that clerk staff determined that he had 5,560 valid signatures after the challenge.
The plaintiff claims that the clerk acknowledged his challenge but “referenced an unsupported allegation made by Briggs in her June 3 ‘Final Determination Letter’ that ‘Mercier’s challenge alleges that circulators must be registered voters or maintain an updated registered voter status at their current residence.’”
“However, the plaintiff never challenged the circulators’ voter registration or residence,” the complaint said. “Rather, the plaintiff challenged the ‘genuineness’ of the circulators’ signatures; questioning whether the person who claimed to have signed the petition was actually the person whose signature appeared on the petition.”
He further contends that the clerk arbitrarily determined that Briggs had enough signatures to be certified. Mercier also argues that the Bureau of Elections shirked their duty to address the issue.
“It is indisputable that the Wayne County Clerk did not conduct an investigation pursuant to her statutory duty under subsection 552(2) and the BOE completely failed to address this issue in its June 7, 2024, decision letter in complete disregard of its statutory duty,” Mercier argued. “The BOE improperly stated ‘your decision to wait until 3:55 p.m. on June 6 – the day before the deadline to finalize the names of candidates on the ballot – to file your appeal would make such an effort impossible.’ … But the plaintiff timely filed his appeal to the BOE, within three days after the clerk issued her final determination that took her five weeks to release after the plaintiff’s April 30 complaint.”
Mercier said the delay was with the clerk, not the plaintiff.
The inaction, he added, was cause for Judge Sima Patel to grant his request for a writ to compel the Bureau to investigate further, and that the finding must include the reversal of the clerk’s determination regarding Briggs.
“The clerk failed to provide sufficient evidence to overcome the presumption that the circulators’ signatures identified in the Mercier complaint are genuine and valid and consequently, her decision must be reversed and remanded,” the complaint said.
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