Davis v. Sec'y of State
| Decision Date | 20 April 2023 |
| Docket Number | 362841 |
| Parties | ROBERT DAVIS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SECRETARY OF STATE, Defendant-Appellee |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US |
Court of Claims LC No. 22-000125-MM
Before: O'BRIEN, P.J., and MURRAY and LETICA, JJ.
Plaintiff Robert Davis, appeals as of right the Court of Claims order granting summary disposition in favor of defendant, the Secretary of State, and denying his requests for a writ of mandamus and declaratory relief. Plaintiff sought to remove judicial candidates that defendant certified to appear on the election ballot, alleging that the candidates failed to comply with the statutes governing the criteria for judicial candidacy. Specifically, plaintiff challenged five candidates for the Third Circuit Court in Wayne County in the November 2022 general election, submitting that they failed to comply with affidavit requirements in MCL 168.558. In light of the allegedly deficient affidavits, plaintiff requested that defendant decertify those individuals from the ballot. The Court of Claims concluded that plaintiff failed to establish some of his claimed instances of noncompliance, and although he did prove others, he failed to timely commence suit, such that relief was barred by the equitable doctrine of laches. We affirm.
According to Michigan's Election Laws, MCL 168.1 et seq. a nonincumbent candidate for circuit court in the August 2022 primary election and the November 8, 2022 general election was required to submit to defendant a sufficient number of nominating petitions signed by qualified and registered voters, MCL 168.413(1), while an incumbent circuit court judge could become a candidate by filing an affidavit of candidacy with defendant, MCL 168.413a(1). In addition to those requirements, under MCL 168.558(2), a candidate was required to file an affidavit of identity (AOI) delineating the candidate's name and residential address, the candidate's United States citizenship, the title of the office sought, and the candidate's political party or a statement that the candidate was running without political party affiliation. Further, the candidate was required to specify the term of the office, the date of the election, a statement that the candidate met the constitutional and statutory qualifications for the office sought, the name as the candidate wished it to appear on the ballot, and other information required to satisfy defendant as to the candidate's identity. Id. Two copies of the AOI must be filed. MCL 168.558(1). A sample AOI form, ED-104, with a revision date of August 2019, provides:
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Section three of the form has a blank space, under which is written "political party, if a partisan office. if running without party affiliation list 'No Party Affiliation.' "[1] Circuit court judges are nonpartisan. Const 1963, Art VI, § 12.[2]
Incumbent Judge Mark Thomas Slavens (Slavens) submitted an AOI dated December 14, 2021. The AOI contained his name, address, the office name of Third Circuit Court Judge, and the jurisdiction of the office in Wayne County. Slavens also specified the term of office, the date of election, the incumbent nature of the position, and the acknowledgement of the affidavits of candidacy and constitutional qualification. However, Slavens left the form line blank and did not identify a political party or delineate that there was no party affiliation. Defendant recorded that it received the filing on December 21, 2021. Following his submission, Slavens exchanged emails with defendant's representatives indicating that he complied with the statutory candidacy requirements including the submission of two AOIs.[3]
Incumbent Judge Sheila Ann Gibson Manning[4] (Gibson) submitted an AOI dated January 28, 2022. Like Slavens, Gibson's AOI addressed the information demonstrating her qualifications to serve as an incumbent Wayne Circuit Court Judge. But she left line three of the AOI blank and did not identify a party affiliation or specify that she had no party affiliation. Defendant recorded that it received Gibson's filing on February 8, 2022.
Incumbent Judge Kelly Ann Ramsey (Ramsey) submitted an AOI dated March 8, 2022. Consistent with Slavens and Gibson, Ramsey completed the form to present the information demonstrating her qualifications to serve as an incumbent Wayne Circuit Court Judge. Ramsey also left line three of the AOI blank and did not identify a party affiliation or specify that she has no party affiliation. Defendant recorded that it received Ramsey's filing on March 9, 2022.
Incumbent Judge Patricia Susan Fresard (Fresard) submitted an AOI dated March 15, 2022. Consistent with the other incumbent judges, Fresard's AOI addressed the information demonstrating her qualifications to serve as an incumbent Wayne Circuit Court Judge. Fresard also left line three of the AOI blank and did not identify a party affiliation or specify that she had no party affiliation. Defendant recorded that it received Fresard's filing on March 17, 2022.
Non-incumbent candidate LaKena Tennille Crespo filed an AOI dated April 19, 2022. Crespo acknowledged that she was a non-incumbent and did not file an affidavit of candidacy. Rather, she submitted 6,105 nominating petitions to be qualified for the ballot. Crespo completed line three and addressed the questions of political party or no party affiliation by writing "N/A" in the space provided. Defendant recorded that it received Crespo's filing on April 19, 2022. Thus, by the spring of 2022, all the AOIs were filed by plaintiff's challenged candidates.[5]
On May 6, 2022, plaintiff filed a separate action seeking mandamus against the Highland Park City Clerk and the Highland Park Election Commission, challenging the eligibility of Carlton Clyburn Jr. (Clyburn) to be a candidate for mayor. Davis v Highland Park City Clerk, unpublished per curiam opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued June 2, 2022 (Docket No. 361544), slip op at 1-2. Specifically, plaintiff alleged that Clyburn failed to comply with MCL 168.558(2) because he left the space blank where it requested designation of a political party or no party affiliation. Therefore, plaintiff alleged that mandamus relief was warranted because Clyburn had to be excluded from the ballot for his noncompliance with applicable election law. Id. at 2-3. This Court granted the request to expedite the appeal and concluded that the trial court erred by failing to grant mandamus relief because Clyburn did not comply with MCL 168.558(2). Id. at 2 n 2, 34.
Despite plaintiff's involvement in the mandamus action to remove Clyburn under MCL 168.558(2), he did not file the underlying action for mandamus and declaratory relief against the challenged judicial candidates until August 16, 2022, nearly four months after the last AOI was filed by the challenged candidates. Plaintiff's complaint sought (1) a declaratory judgment that the AOIs filed by Fresard, Ramsey, Gibson, and Crespo did not comply with MCL 168.558(2) and that defendant's certification of their names to the Wayne County Election Commission was void and unenforceable as a result, (2) a declaratory judgment that all of the challenged candidates failed to comply with MCL 168.558(1) because they did not submit two copies of their AOIs and that defendant's certification of their names to the Wayne County Election Commission was void and unenforceable as a result, and (3) a writ of mandamus to remove the challenged candidates' names from the list of candidates certified by defendant to the Wayne County Election Commission.
In lieu of an answer, defendant moved for summary disposition. Defendant explained that it had accepted the challenged candidates' AOIs because, at the time, the Bureau of Elections believed that no party affiliation statement was necessary because the judicial candidates were nonpartisan. Defendant recognized that it had, since that time, been ordered to disqualify a candidate for failing to fill out the affiliation line, but defendant declined to apply that order retroactively to others because the order was not binding precedent, and in any event, there was no mechanism for it to do so.[6] In light of the requirement that defendant certify all proposals and candidates by September 9, 2022, MCL 168.648, a mere 24 days after plaintiff filed his complaint, defendant submitted that laches should apply to bar plaintiff's challenges in this matter. It also alleged that Crespo's affidavit complied with MCL 168.558(2) because the statute did not require any specific wording and "N/A" should be understood as sufficient. Defendant did not address plaintiff's claim that the challenged candidates failed to file two copies of their AOIs.
Slavens submitted an amicus brief, noting that he had executed his AOI on December 14, 2021, and it had been received by defendant on December 21, 2021. At the time of his submission and defendant's receipt, the effective version of MCL 168.558(2), as then amended by 2018 PA 650, did not require any statement regarding party affiliation.[7] He further provided documentation to demonstrate that he had filed the required two copies of his AOI in the form of e-mail correspondence with a representative of defendant. Slavens was the only candidate to address plaintiff's claim that the challenged candidates failed to file the required number of AOI copies. Crespo asserted that she complied with the requirement of MCL 168.558(2) by specifying that it had no application.
The remaining challenged candidates also submitted amicus briefs asserting that plaintiff lacked standing, that plaintiff was not entitled to mandamus, and that plaintiff's claims should be barred by laches. They also alleged that it was unclear whether, as incumbent judges, t...
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