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Snyder recall will not meet Friday deadline

Gov. Rick Snyder
Tiberius Images
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Gov. Rick Snyder

The campaign to recall Governor Rick Snyder says it will fall short of the number of signatures it needs to gather by Friday to qualify for the November ballot.

But organizers say they will press on in an effort to qualify for the next election in February.

A recall spokesman says the drive got off to a slow start, and did not attract much attention until recently.

Bill Ballenger is the editor of the Inside Michigan Politics newsletter. He says recalling the governor is a huge challenge.

“You need so many signatures. You need over 800 thousand signatures – minimum. And you really have to have some padding because obviously Republicans and lawyers are going to challenge the petitions when they’re turned in. Some will be thrown out. So, realistically, you’d have to have, I say, over a million signatures.”

The recall drive says its new goal is to gather a million names by late September.

There are also petitions being circulated to recall more than 20 other legislators.

Ballenger says if one of those gets on the ballot, it would be a referendum on Snyder.

Rick Pluta is Senior Capitol Correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He has been covering Michigan’s Capitol, government, and politics since 1987.