Spring is here and with it comes petition filings for federal and statewide elected offices. Two years ago, several Republican candidates for governor, me included, were removed from the ballot due to signature and circulator issues. I’d hoped lessons were learned for future candidates, but it appears not.

Despite the high-profile lessons of 2022, candidates are finding themselves back in the same soup. The Board of Canvassers, a bipartisan body made up of two Republicans and two Democrats, that has jurisdiction over the petition signature requirements, will meet later this month to consider challenges to several candidates’ qualifications. My hope is that they apply the same rules and standards to those candidates, as they did in 2022, regardless of party affiliation.

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It would be highly unfair and blatantly partisan if the Board of Canvassers decides to play politics and ignores the mistakes made by the candidates in question.

The people of Michigan need to have trust in the governing bodies that oversee the ballot access process. That trust will be entirely eroded if we see one year with numerous Republicans being kicked off the ballot and a free pass for Democrats in another year.

Take the challenge facing Democrat Curtis Hertel, Jr., one of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s top political allies, who incorrectly put “U.S. Congress” on his petitions as the title of the office he is seeking. While Hertel served 22-years in public office and comes from a dynastic Democratic family (his father was Speaker of the House, uncle a congressman and brother a sitting state senator), he listed an entire branch of government, not an office. “U.S. Congress” includes not just the U.S. House of Representatives but also the U.S. Senate. It is important to note, the 2024 ballot will include an open U.S. Senate seat along with the entire Michigan U.S. House delegation. Therefore, someone signing his petition really has no idea which office he is seeking. A pretty significant error for an experienced career politician.

To be clear: Michigan statute explicitly says that a candidate for U.S. House of Representatives list the title as “Representative to Congress,” and guidance from the Board of Canvassers is equally explicit.

Running for office is a serious undertaking and requires campaigns to be diligent in their preparations and follow through. It appears some campaigns did not take this process seriously and mistakes were made.

Congress is not an easy place to navigate, and it takes a serious person willing to understand the rules and procedures of the House to be an effective leader. A practice that we as voters should see being applied well before a candidate is sworn into office.

My hope is that all candidates for any office requiring petition signatures are without flaws and submitted in accordance with the laws of our state. If not, there are consequences for those mistakes, and they should be applied equally across the board with no bias or favoritism. The Board of Canvassers should follow the rules and apply the laws as written.

James Craig is former police chief of Detroit.