Adam Hollier failed to file enough voter signatures to land spot on ballot, review finds

Adam Hollier — the Detroit Democrat hoping to unseat U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar — did not obtain enough signatures to appear on the primary ballot, according to a report by the Wayne County Clerk's Office made public Thursday. Thanedar has sought to disqualify Hollier from the race, alleging his challenger submitted fraudulent and invalid voter signatures, falling short of the required number to secure a spot on the ballot.

To qualify to run in the primary, congressional candidates must file at least 1,000 voter signatures from residents of the district they want to represent. Hollier failed to meet that threshold, filing 863 valid voter signatures, according to the review by the Wayne County clerk's staff.

The review found that of 1,553 signatures Hollier filed to run in the 13th Congressional District's Democratic primary, 690 were deemed invalid for a variety of issues such as duplicate signatures or signatures from those not registered to vote.

The report recommends Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett determine Hollier's petition insufficient. Michigan election law requires the publication of a staff report reviewing challenges to a candidate's petition signatures at least two business days before the county clerk makes a final determination.

Hollier previously served in the Michigan Senate and as Director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. He lost the congressional primary to Thanedar in 2022. Hollier sought another chance to defeat Thanedar this year and described the thought of failing to make the ballot as terrifying in an interview with the Free Press Editorial Board last Friday.

"I had a whole panic attack, laying on the floor like, 'Oh my gosh. ... I've spent my whole life getting to this moment, doing the right thing consistently ... and I took my eye off the ball for one second. I trusted one person to do a thing and to check it and they said it was done, and I didn't look at it. And it's going to cost me everything,'" Hollier said.

Hollier's campaign expressed disappointment in response to the release of the report. "We are in the process of carefully reviewing our next steps and will have more to say shortly," Hollier campaign attorney Melvin Butch Hollowell said in a statement.

Thanedar characterized his challenge to Hollier's signatures as an effort to ensure his opponent followed the law. "This is the basic requirement to qualify to be on the ballot," Thanedar said. It clearly looks like Hollier failed to comply with it, Thanedar told the Free Press on Thursday.

Jonathan Kinloch — the Wayne County commissioner who chairs the 13th District Democratic Party — called the prospect of Hollier's disqualification a disappointing outcome for voters. Not only would failing to make the ballot be a huge blow to Hollier and those who stepped up to support his campaign, it would leave voters without the option to reject Hollier themselves if that's what they want, he added. "It's just sad when these types of situations happen," Kinloch said.

Last cycle, Thanedar's election, along with the reelection of U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, left one of the nation's largest majority-Black cities without any Black representation for the first time in nearly 70 years.

This year, Hollier, who is Black, has secured endorsements from prominent Democrats and faith leaders in Detroit for his campaign, which has emphasized the importance of restoring Black representation in Congress for Detroit.

In response to Thanedar's challenge, Hollier's campaign last week acknowledged it filed signatures that were likely forged but expressed confidence that it still turned in enough valid signatures.

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Hundreds of the challenges leveled by Thanedar "appear to be baseless," lawyers for Hollier's campaign wrote in a letter to Garrett. They characterized Thanedar's challenge as "a thinly-disguised attempt at voter suppression to prevent the voters from casting their ballot for the candidate of their choosing." Thanedar pushed back on the assertion and stood by his challenge to Hollier's signatures. He emphasized that Hollier's campaign admitted it filed signatures that appeared clearly forged. "That shows blatant incompetence," Thanedar told the Free Press last week.

The staff report from the county clerk's office rejected 307 of the 986 challenges Thanedar made to Hollier's signatures. "While some signatures may be rehabilitated based on candidate Hollier's response, there is insufficient evidence that he would prevail with enough signatures to overcome this challenge," the report states.

After Garrett decides Hollier's fate, those who disagree can request the Secretary of State's Office or circuit court to review the clerk's determination.

Detroit Councilmember Mary Waters and attorney Shakira Lynn Hawkins have also filed to run against Thanedar in the 13th District's Democratic primary Aug. 6.

Contact Clara Hendrickson: chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Report finds Adam Hollier didn't file enough signatures