Abdul El-Sayed's Michigan gubernatorial campaign clears another hurdle

It’s officially official, Abdul El-Sayed is eligible to run for governor.

After the Michigan Secretary of State said the Shelby Township Democrat was eligible last week, the Court of Claims ruled Thursday that the lawsuit El-Sayed filed, asking the court to confirm his eligibility was dismissed.

Shri Thanedar, one of the three Democratic candidates for governor, and three other Michigan voters filed challenges to El-Sayed’s candidacy because the former Detroit health department director lived in New York from 2013-2015 while he went to school and taught at Columbia University. He changed his Michigan driver’s license to a New York license and voted in New York during that time.

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Because of the change of driver’s license, the Michigan Secretary of State put El-Sayed’s voter registration on a challenged status and if he had attempted to vote in the state, his ballot would have been challenged.

While he didn't vote in Michigan between 2013 and 2016, he never lost his voter's registration, the bureau determined.

The El-Sayed campaign, which filed the lawsuit hoping to clear up any questions about his eligibility to run, said it always expected to be vindicated.

“While we anticipate that this definitive statement of fact by the Bureau of Elections won’t stop political opponents from persisting in smear campaigns, Abdul’s supporters and everyday voters can be fully confident in their support of Abdul,” said Adam Joseph, spokesman for the El-Sayed campaign.

But El-Sayed filed a challenge of the petitions turned in by Thanedar, saying they were riddled with fraudulent signatures gathered by ineligible petition circulators. The Secretary of State’s office hasn’t finished its review yet of petitions turned in by gubernatorial and congressional candidates.