After
nearly a month since the August Primary, the Board of State Canvassers unanimously
voted earlier this week to certify the August Detroit Mayoral Primary results,
officially making former Detroit Medical Center CEO Mike Duggan the winner.
Approximately
18,000 ballots were questioned by the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, causing
them not to certify the election results following the August 6th
election. City election workers entered the numerical total for each spelling
of a write-in candidate’s name; however, did not also show the individual tally
marks that would add to the total. Although statute does not call for the tally
marks, County election procedures do. The Wayne County Board of Canvassers
initially considered certifying the election results without the 18,000 ballots
which would have resulted in a change in election results, handing the victory
to Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon instead of former Detroit Medical Center
CEO Mike Duggan. When the Board decided not to certify the results, the issue
moved to the Board of State Canvassers under statute.
The
bipartisan Board of State Canvassers concurred with the Michigan Elections
Bureau and certified the results providing Mr. Duggan with 48,716 votes and
Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon in second place with 28,391.
Opponents
of Mr. Duggan had been attempting to block the certification of the results,
including obtaining a temporary restraining order from Ingham County Circuit
Court Judge Joyce Draganchuk, whose order to block the state’s review and
re-tabulation of the votes was overturned by the Court of Appeals.
Mr.
Duggan and Mr. Napoleon will now face off in the November General Election.