Congressman may not make ballot

DETROIT – After a second review of petitions turned in by U.S. Rep. John Conyers, the Wayne County Clerk has found the longtime Democratic congressman only turned in 592 valid signatures, short of the 1,000 needed to qualify for the Aug. 5 primary ballot.

The findings in the report released Friday don’t mean that Conyers is automatically off the ballot, though. Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett will make a final determination on his status on Tuesday and the Conyers campaign will have three days to appeal to the Michigan secretary of state.

The initial review showed 1,193 valid signatures, but 644 more signatures were thrown off because petition circulators were not properly registered to vote, a requirement under state law.

Conyers turned in 2,000 signatures on April 18, and Garrett’s office found that 1,193 of those signatures were valid. State law says that Conyers needs at least 1,000 valid signatures from and gathered by registered voters.

If the state review confirms Garrett’s ruling, Conyers has several options including: retiring from office, mounting a write-in campaign or challenging the ruling in the courts.