Independent 38th Senate District candidate Sara Cambensy released a letter addressing the Michigan Bureau of Elections Board of Canvassers in response to a recent petition signature challenge. The letter to the board of canvassers outlines the allegations and provides a response, often citing the Michigan Board of Canvassers Petition Manual and Without Party Affiliation Manual.
The campaign maintains it followed all laws regarding signature collection and asks the board to uphold Cambensy’s qualification for the November 2026 ballot as an independent candidate with more than the minimum 1,500 petition signatures required.
Cambensy’s campaign acknowledged finding discrepancies in the signature count when reviewing the petitions and agreed 83 signatures should not be counted. This is far fewer than the figure the petition challenge alleges.
The campaign also responded to accusations that a petition collector forged signatures due to illegible handwriting and that the collector’s signatures should not count because of their Democratic Party affiliation.
Cambensy’s response points to the Board of Canvassers’ own election manual, which recognizes signatures may have some variance. The manual does not contain a provision prohibiting members of a political party from circulating petitions.
In total, Sara Cambensy’s campaign collected 2,349 signatures, which the candidate herself submitted to the Board of Canvassers.
For more information, a copy of the release and letter to the Board of Canvassers is available online.
Sara Cambensy Letter addressing the Michigan Board of Canvassers
Sara Cambensy for Senate Campaign press release
