Petition scandal disqualifies Hollier from the congressional primary ballot against Thanedar

Former state Sen. Adam Hollier has been disqualified from the August primary ballot for the 13th Congressional District.

That was the determination of Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett Tuesday, who confirmed Hollier had failed to submit enough valid voter signatures as had been alleged in a petition challenge mounted by U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit), the first-term incumbent.

“A thorough and comprehensive check of the petition signatures against the qualified voter file has been completed of the entire set of petitions filed by Candidate Hollier, not just the signatures identified in your challenge,” Garrett wrote in a letter to Thanedar. “A review of the handwriting and flourishes within each signature on each line for petitions S2-S10 show the same distinct handwriting and patterns indicative that the same hand fraudulently signed every line of each petition sheet.”

The finding mirrored a report issued last week by Garrett’s election staff which found that only 863 of the 1,553 signatures submitted by Hollier were valid, leaving him 137 signatures short of the 1,000 needed to qualify for the ballot as a U.S. House candidate.

The signatures were collected by Londell Thomas of Harper Woods, a paid circulator and co-owner of Groundmind Strategies in Southfield. While Hollier had called Thanedar’s challenge a “bad faith” effort, he nonetheless admitted that the signatures Thomas turned in on his behalf appeared to have been forged.

Hollier referenced that in a statement issued late Tuesday following Garrett’s decision. 

“I am extremely disappointed with the news from the Wayne County Clerk following her thorough and professional review of our petitions — not for myself, but for the voters across the 13th District who deserve a real choice in who their next Congressperson will be,” said Hollier. “While I put my trust in someone who let us down in the collection of signatures, ultimately the leadership of the campaign falls on me and I must hold myself to a higher standard.”

Hollier, who is African American and has many high-profile endorsements, has been considered best-positioned to oust Thanedar in the Aug. 6 primary. The freshman congressman has upset some constituents with his support for Israel during the war in Gaza.

Neither of Michigan’s two Detroit-based seats is represented by a Black Michigander, which has drawn criticism from some community leaders. Thanedar immigrated from India and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), who was elected to the 12th District is Palestinian American.

The former lawmaker went on to say that the state’s petition collection system was “sorely in need of reform,” to prevent future campaigns and voters from falling victim to fraud. 

The issue became front and center in 2022, when a determination of signature fraud resulted in five Republican gubernatorial candidates in Michigan being kicked off the primary ballot. 

5 Michigan GOP gov. candidates kicked off ballot amid signature fraud scandal

More recently, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), along with the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP), alleged “indications of fraud” in the petitions of four of the five Republicans seeking the nomination to run for U.S. Senate.

Hollier has 72 hours to request a review of Garrett’s decision by the Michigan Secretary of State. He can also seek relief through circuit court action, although Hollier gave no indication if he planned to do so.

His disqualification leaves Detroit City Council member Mary Waters and attorney Shakira Hawkins as Thanedar’s only competition in August’s Democratic primary. 

However, neither has the financial resources of Thanedar, a millionaire businessman who defeated Hollier in the 2022 primary for the heavily Democratic district that includes a portion of Detroit, as well as other Wayne County communities such as Highland Park, Hamtramck, Harper Woods, the Grosse Pointes, Allen Park, River Rouge, Melvindale and Taylor.