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Board votes to subpoena Cornel West campaign for missing circulator signature samples
Summary
After staff reported it had reviewed 42 of 62 petition circulator exemplars and could not access roughly 20 circulator signatures, the Board of State Canvassers voted to issue a subpoena to the Cornel West campaign to produce the outstanding signature samples the bureau had requested.
The Michigan Board of State Canvassers voted to issue a subpoena to the Cornel West campaign directing production of petition circulator signature exemplars the campaign had not provided, following a staff update on an investigation ordered by the Court of Appeals.
Board staff told the panel they had reviewed circulator exemplars where available and had compared them either to the state qualified voter file or to identification provided by the campaign. Staff reported that of 62 circulators they identified for the petition, 28 appeared in Michigan’s qualified voter file and the campaign provided driver’s-license exemplars for 14 out-of-state circulators; together the bureau reviewed exemplar signatures for 42 circulators.
Petition challenger Mr. Brewer told the board the inquiry remained incomplete because the bureau had not been able to examine about 20 circulator exemplars. “There appears that your investigation is incomplete because at least 20 of these signatures haven't been examined,” he said.
Board members and staff discussed options for compelling production of the remaining exemplars. Staff advised the board that section 552 of the Michigan election law and the board’s own rules authorize the board to hold hearings and issue subpoenas for evidence relevant to petition investigations. The attorney present said subpoenas could be directed either to the campaign or to individual circulators, and practical service considerations would influence that choice.
A board member moved that the board issue a subpoena to the Cornel West campaign through the campaign’s Michigan attorney directing production of the previously requested circulator signature samples not provided voluntarily. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote (meeting transcript records "Aye"). The board instructed its attorneys to prepare and serve the subpoena listing the specific circulator names that remain outstanding.
Staff described the policy stakes: petition circulator practices are expected to recur in future campaign cycles, and the board discussed whether to develop procedures for dealing with out-of-state circulator exemplars and whether to provide clearer advance guidance to campaigns on recordkeeping for paid signature gatherers. The bureau said it had added guidance after 2022 and used random sampling in 2024, but explained legal and logistical obstacles to validating out-of-state circulator signatures at the initial petition-sufficiency review.
Board members said the subpoena is intended to enforce the board’s investigatory responsibility and to signal to campaigns the expectation of compliance with information requests; they also acknowledged that if the campaign does not comply the board would need to consider enforcement steps later.
