Bill Request to Generate an Automatic Affidavit of Identity for Candidates Running for Elected Office When A Debit is Paid In Full Before The Filing Deadline

By the Friends of Cynthia A. Johnson 

        Former State Representative and Candidate for 2023 Democratic Party Chairperson.

      After the events of the August 2022 primary election that removed the name of Cynthia A. Johnson from the ballot, the Campaign Finance System needs to be reformed so that it will conform to standard accounting practices.  When you pay off a balance on a debt before the due date, you incur no interest and, your debit is paid in full. You are also given a receipt for your records. 

Period.

Support a New Public Act
to Reform the
Campaign Finance System

The filing deadline for all candidates running for office was on April 19th, 2022 at 4pm EDT. At the time,  Ms. Johnson was running for the office of Michigan State House of Representatives in District 1. Ms. Johnson was informed by the Michigan Secretary of State's, Bureau of Elections that she owed a monetary debt on April 4th, 2022.  She paid the entire balance on April 5th, 2022, and filed a new Affidavit of Identity saying that she was debt free after withdrawing the first one she filed.

On April 10 she was notified by the Bureau of Elections that she owed an additional $875 in fees. She paid the balance on April 13th, 2020 and filed a signed new Affidavit of Identity.  On secondary inspection of the document, the Affidavit of Identity was hand stamped as being filed on April 12th, 2022, by an employee. 

This grave oversight allowed the Bureau of Elections to remove her name from the ballot because of a state law that gives a legal impression that she had lied about having no debts before the campaign filing date.

Had she been given the entire balance in a timely manner she would have paid the entire balance on April 5th and Affidavit of Identity generated by the Finance System as a part of the receipt with 2 copies. One for the clerk and one for the candidate just like they do for a customer buying an appliance from ABC Warehouse. When she paid a new balance due on April 13th, 2022, a new Affidavit of Identity would have been printed for her then. 

Therefore we need a bill introduced into law to state that when all campaign fees are paid in full by a candidate for elected office, an Affidavit of Identity is generated as a part of their receipt. This change in the current law, will stop incidents like this from reaching a Courtroom situation with a Judge that can use their wisdom instead of tying their hands into arbitrary decision.  The change will eliminate clerical errors and the $100 county filing fee would be added on at payment of all debt.

Candidates running for elected office need a system that can serve them instead of confuse them. We hope that a Senator and a Representative in Lansing Michigan can introduce a and co-sponsor a bill (or bills) to reform the Michigan Campaign Finance Reform System.