Conyers put back on ballot

Ruling saves lawmaker from Michigan write-in campaign

DETROIT -- A judge on Friday ordered U.S. Rep. John Conyers' name placed on the August primary ballot, trumping Michigan election officials who said the Democrat was ineligible because of nominating-petition problems.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman capped a turbulent day that appeared to diminish the possibility that Conyers -- No. 2 in seniority in the House -- might have to mount a write-in campaign to keep his nearly 50-year congressional career alive.

Conyers needed 1,000 petition signatures to get a spot in the Democratic primary. But many petitions were thrown out because the people who gathered names weren't registered voters or listed a wrong registration address. That left him more than 400 short.

But Leitman issued an injunction reinstating Conyers to the ballot. He said a Michigan law that puts strict requirements on petition circulators is similar to an Ohio law that was struck down as unconstitutional by a federal appeals court in 2008.

Leitman said the free-speech rights of Conyers and the circulators were harmed, an argument pressed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan.

There's evidence that the failure to comply with the law was a "result of good-faith mistakes and that [circulators] believed they were in compliance with the statute," the judge said.

Leitman said he was releasing his order at this time "because time is of the essence."

"The court believes it is essential to issue this order now -- prior to issuance of a supporting opinion -- in order to provide any party who may wish to appeal as much time as possible in which to do so and in order to maximize the time in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit may have to review any possible appeal," the judge wrote.

It was not immediately clear whether the judge's ruling would be appealed.

The Michigan attorney general's office had defended the law and urged the judge to reject Conyers' challenge. Spokesman Joy Yearout said the state hasn't decided whether to go to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- the same court that struck down the Ohio law.

Leitman's decision came hours after Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson agreed with Detroit-area election officials and said Conyers was disqualified.

Conyers, 85, said he was pleased with the judge's decision.

"I'm trying not to smile openly much, but this is very good news, and it's also good news for the process," Conyers told WXYZ-TV.

"We believe it's a very big win for the voters," said Bert Johnson, a state senator who is running Conyers' campaign. "It puts one of the more ugly parts of the campaign process behind us."

Conyers would face the Rev. Horace Sheffield, the pastor of New Destiny Christian Fellowship Church in Detroit, in the August primary.

Conyers has been in Congress since 1965 and would be the longest-serving member of the House if re-elected.

He has routinely won re-election -- often with more than 80 percent of the vote -- and became the senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus, which he helped found.

There is precedent in Michigan for a successful write-in campaign. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan used that method in last year's primary after his name was kept off the ballot because of a residency issue.

But in another case, Republican Rep. Thad McCotter of suburban Detroit didn't make the ballot because a staff member turned in phony signatures or ones from old petitions. McCotter announced he would mount a write-in campaign but later dropped the effort.

Information for this article was contributed Ed White and Jeff Karoub of The Associated Press and by Julie Bosman and Mary Chapman of The New York Times.

A Section on 05/24/2014

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