Commission: Jim Storey will need to find another way onto the ballot in August

ALLEGAN — Allegan County’s Election Commission unanimously ruled Thursday it has no authority to hear or act on a request from current County Board Chair Jim Storey.

Probate Judge and Commission Chair Mike Buck, County Clerk Bob Genetski and County Treasurer Sally Brooks met for the second time Thursday, May 16, to discuss a letter from Storey, requesting to be restored to the August primary ballot. After discussing for about 15 minutes, they voted 3-0 to approve a resolution declaring the body had no authority in the case.

Storey withdrew from the race April 26, but claimed in a letter to the commission on April 29 he did so under duress.

More: Allegan Board Chair claims he withdrew 'under duress,' wants back on the ballot

The first question before the commission was determining whether or not it had authority. Adam Tountas, who represented Storey, argued during an initial May 8 meeting the commission did.

However, Buck cited a 2021 case — Hatchett v. Pontiac City Election Commission — in which the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled an election commission did not have authority to add a candidate to the ballot. That, along with an opinion from Attorney General Dana Nessel in 2023, led to his opinion.

“I do not find the sources cited by counsel on May 8, 2024, to be persuasive that this body has the authority,” Buck said.

Genetski and Brooks agreed with Buck’s opinion.

“This body concludes that it does not have supervisory or appellate authority of the Allegan County Clerk or the Michigan Secretary of State and that those two entities are the ‘election official(s)’ referenced in applicable statutes and rules, with authority of candidate eligibility,” their resolution reads, in part. “Therefore, the Allegan County Election Commission hereby determines it has no authority to address candidate eligibility and hereby decline to address this issue further.”

After the decision, Storey said his campaign is not over and added the “core issue” is “state bureaucrats and their subservient county clerk (deciding) who is elected” by keeping him off the ballot instead of leaving it to voters.

“I will continue to fight for the right to face the voters this election year,” he said. “A democracy dies when unelected bureaucrats, not the voters, choose the future.”

Storey has the option of pursuing the matter in court, but said Thursday he doesn't plan to do so.

"It would involve the county paying to defend this commission, (and) that’s an unnecessary expense for the taxpayers just for my personal situation," he said.

When asked if he’s considering a write-in campaign, Storey said he’s considering “a couple of options," but he’s not ready to announce a direction.

Storey initially filed for re-election April 23, but withdrew his candidacy days later after being told, by Genetski, the state directed he be disqualified from the ballot.

Genetski said he was told to disqualify Storey due to unfiled campaign finance reports related to Storey’s 2015 run for state representative. While Storey had paid fines associated with missed reports, the state said there were still outstanding filings that led to his disqualification.

Storey said Thursday he'd kept up with the reports for years, but eventually stopped. He also said he’s tried to dissolve the committee in the past, so he wouldn’t have to file the reports.

“I can’t get the doggone Secretary of State to kill it,” Storey said. “The county campaign finance reports are all paper. I fill them out, no problem. It’s the (system) that the state uses that’s so complex, you’ve got to hire someone to do it."

Storey is seeking re-election in District 1 for the Allegan County Board of Commissioners. He was elected to the board in 2012 and has been re-elected five times.

There is one other candidate for the seat. Craig Van Beek, a pastor and president of the Hamilton Board of Education, is running as a Republican.

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Commission: Jim Storey will need to find another way onto the ballot in August