Nicholas Bliss tried to get a recall going against two Elmwood Township officials. Election commission said no thanks and sent him packing Friday morning. Turns out you can’t just write whatever you want on a recall petition and expect it to fly.
Bliss wanted to recall Township Supervisor Chris Graff and Treasurer Cheryl Kilbourn. He filled out the paperwork, submitted his petition language to the Tuscola County Election Commission, and waited for approval. Didn’t get it.
The commission looked over what Bliss wrote and basically said it’s not good enough. Michigan election law has specific requirements for recall language. It needs to be factually clear and have enough substance to explain why someone should be booted from office. Bliss’s petition didn’t meet those standards.
That’s a pretty basic requirement when you think about it. You can’t just say “recall this person because I don’t like them.” You need actual reasons backed by facts. What did they do? When did they do it? Why does it justify removing them from office? Vague complaints don’t cut it.
The commission voted not to approve the wording as submitted. They issued a Certificate of Determination explaining their decision. That document went into the meeting materials, which means it’s part of the public record now. Anyone can look it up and see exactly why the petition got rejected.
Without approval, Bliss can’t do anything with his petition. Can’t collect signatures. Can’t get it on the ballot. Can’t move forward at all. The recall attempt is dead in the water unless he rewrites the language and resubmits it.
Recall petitions are tricky business. Michigan has strict rules about how elections work and recall petitions fall under those regulations. The language needs to be precise because voters deserve to know exactly what they’re signing.
Elmwood Township’s a small place. When someone tries to recall your supervisor and treasurer, that’s big news locally. Township politics can get pretty heated. People take sides. Arguments break out at board meetings. This recall attempt probably didn’t come out of nowhere – there’s likely drama behind it.
But whatever beef Bliss has with Graff and Kilbourn, he didn’t articulate it well enough for the election commission. Maybe his language was too vague. Maybe he made claims he couldn’t back up with facts. Maybe he just didn’t follow the format required by law. Whatever the problem was, the commission wasn’t having it.
Bliss has options now. He could rewrite the petition language to meet the commission’s standards and resubmit it. That means being more specific, providing factual details, and making sure everything complies with state election law. Or he could just drop the whole thing and move on.
Rewriting and resubmitting takes time though. The commission would have to review the new language at another meeting. More waiting, more scrutiny, more chances to get rejected again. And even if the language eventually gets approved, then comes the hard part – actually collecting enough signatures to trigger a recall election.
Graff and Kilbourn probably aren’t losing sleep over this. The recall got shut down before it even started. They stay in their positions unless someone successfully gets a petition approved and collects the required signatures. Local officials dealing with various challenges probably appreciate not having a recall hanging over their heads while trying to do their jobs.
Township board meetings in Elmwood might be awkward for a while though. Bliss presumably lives in the township. Graff and Kilbourn know he tried to recall them. That creates tension even if the recall failed. Small-town politics never forget stuff like this.
The Election Commission did their job here. They’re supposed to protect the integrity of the recall process by making sure petitions meet legal standards. Letting through vague or poorly written language would undermine the whole system. Voters need clear information before they sign anything.
So Friday morning’s meeting ended with a rejection. No recall petition for Elmwood Township. No signature gathering. No special election. Just a failed attempt and probably some bruised egos on both sides.
Bliss can try again if he wants. But this time he better make sure his language is crystal clear and meets every requirement Michigan law throws at him. The commission already rejected him once – they won’t hesitate to do it again.
