Challenges to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed's eligibility based on residency are invalid, Michigan's Bureau of Elections concluded Wednesday.

In letters to Shri Thanedar - another Democratic candidate for governor who formally challenged El-Sayed's eligibility last week - and others who filed challenges, Elections Director Sally Williams said El-Sayed filed an affidavit of identity with the state that indicates he's resided in Michigan for 22 years.

Williams said state records show El-Sayed has been continuously registered to vote in Michigan since 2003, adding that the challenges don't provide any evidence to the contrary.

At issue is El-Sayed's residency. The state constitution requires a candidate for governor to "have been a registered elector in this state for four years next preceding his election." El-Sayed, according to voting records obtained in a Bridge investigation, lived in New York and was registered to vote in New York as late as in 2015. He re-registered to vote in Michigan in 2016.

When challenging El-Sayed's campaign, Thanedar said in a press release that the move "should not be construed as a personal attack," but rather an attempt to resolve the matter. El-Sayed's campaign has said repeatedly he is eligible to run and says he maintained a residence in Michigan throughout his time in New York.

The Michigan Democratic Party had previously asked El-Sayed to get a ruling on his eligibility in order to avoid a potentially lengthy and costly residency challenge later on in the cycle.

El-Sayed did so in March, filing suit against Secretary of State Ruth Johnson claiming he had been a continuous resident of Michigan, despite having worked in New York.

In light of the challenges, Judge Christopher Murray asked El-Sayed and the Secretary of State to submit briefs on what effect those challenges have on the Secretary of State's argument.

The Secretary of State argued the lawsuit was premature, since no actual controversy existed. Secretary of State spokesperson Fred Woodhams said Wednesday the department's position on the lawsuit remains unchanged.

In a brief, an attorney for El-Sayed said the claim that there isn't controversy surrounding the issue "simply rings hollow, so long as Dr. El-Sayed remains without a definitive ruling from this Court confirming his eligibility to serve as Governor of Michigan if elected."

El-Sayed's attorney in a brief asked the court to deny the Secretary of State's motion for summary judgement and rule El-Sayed is eligible to serve as governor if elected.

Adam Joseph, communications director for the El-Sayed campaign, reacted to the Secretary of State's determination by maintaining El-Sayed was eligible to serve.

"As we expected, the Secretary of State has rejected this baseless political attack in an unprecedented confirmation of Abdul's eligibility to serve as governor in his state," Joseph said.

MLive reporter Emily Lawler contributed to this report.

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