Sole Democrat running for congressional seat could be left off ballot

WASHINGTON — Matt Morgan, the only Democrat to file to run in Michigan's 1st congressional district, could potentially be left off the Aug. 7 primary ballot because of a glitch involving petitions he submitted to the state in support of his race.

Morgan's campaign put out a statement Monday night saying the state Bureau of Elections will not recommend that the 1,543 petition signatures he submitted be certified because the petitions listed a post office box as an address rather than a street address.

Morgan, of Traverse City, is a political newcomer and a retired Marine Corps officer. He is running against first-term U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, in the 1st District, which includes much of northern Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula.

State law says an "address" of the candidate must be on the nominating petitions, without specifically prohibiting P.O. boxes. But it does indicate in a parenthetical remark on a template for the nominating petition forms that the address should be a "Street Address or Rural Route."

The Michigan Secretary of State's office — of which the Bureau of Elections is a part —confirmed the report and said the Bureau of Elections would be expected to make its recommendation to the four-member state Board of Canvassers later this month.

While such recommendations are generally accepted, they are not always, and Morgan would also have the opportunity to challenge such a decision in court.

Four years ago, former U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, saw his petition signatures initially thrown out because he used people to gather them who were considered ineligible. A federal court overruled the decision and Conyers' name appeared on the ballot.

Even if Morgan's name is left off the August Democratic primary ballot, he could — and apparently will — run a write-in campaign to receive the nomination to face Bergman in November's general election.

“I respect the law and the public servants who enforce it. But I will not allow thousands of voters in northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula to be disenfranchised based on what is otherwise an easily verifiable fact: That I am a legally qualified candidate with the documented support required to appear on the primary election ballot," Morgan said.

Contact Todd Spangler at 703-854-8947 or at tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @tsspangler.