Opinion
361660
06-07-2022
Betty Alexander v. Secretary of State
LC No. 22-000074-MB
David H. Sawyer Presiding Judge, Mark T. Boonstra, Christopher P. Yates Judges
ORDER
Pursuant to MCR 7.216(A)(7), the June 1, 2022 order of the Court of Claims is AFFIRMED. An affidavit of identity (AOI) "must include a signed and notarized statement that as of the date of the affidavit, all statements, reports, late filing fees, and fines required of the candidate or any candidate committee organized to support the candidate's election . . . have been filed or paid; and a statement that the candidate acknowledges that making a false statement in the affidavit is perjury[.]" MCL 168.558(4). Although plaintiffs AOI was facially compliant with MCL 168.558, defendants are prohibited from certifying to the board of election commissioners "the name of a candidate who executes an affidavit of identity that contains a false statement with regard to any information or statement required under this section." MCL 168.558(4). Plaintiffs AOI contained a false statement. When the AOI was executed on February 1, 2022, a late filing fee of $50 remained unpaid. The fee was paid on February 24, 2022. Plaintiff asserts that, when she executed the AOI, she did not know that the AOI contained a false statement. Regardless, the language of MCL 168.558(4) is clear and unambiguous; and therefore, it must be enforced as written. PNC Nat'l Bank Ass'n v Dep't of Treasury, 285 Mich.App. 504, 506; 778 N.W.2d 282 (2009). Because plaintiffs AOI contained a false statement, defendants were prohibited from certifying her name to the board of election commissioners. MCL 168.558(4).
This order is to have immediate effect. MCR 7.215(F)(2).