The Michigan Court of Appeals denied a bid by the Michigan Tea Party to get on the November ballot yesterday, citing “the plaintiff’s failure to strictly comply with the requirements” of state election law, according to The Detroit News.
Last week, a state elections panel split on whether the Tea Party should appear on the ballot, following concerns that the former political director of the Oakland County Democrats committed fraud when he filed papers for Tea Party candidates who weren’t really tea partiers at all.
The Michigan Tea Party had sought to get dozens of names on the ballot, which many tea partiers and Republicans believed was actually an effort by Democrats to use the Tea Party to split the Republican vote in the state.
State Democrats have consistently said that they had nothing to do with the Michigan Tea Party.
The state Board of Canvassers had deadlocked 2-2 earlier this month on whether the Tea Party should get on the November’s ballot — a result that effectively meant the party wouldn’t appear on the ballot without a successful appeal — an appeal that was shot down by the court yesterday.
