LANSING, MI – Michigan’s top elections panel on Monday greenlit a recall petition against a Democratic lawmaker but sent five others back to the drawing board – some of them for the second time.

The Board of State Canvassers approved a recall petition against state Rep. Sharon MacDonell, D-Troy, filed by Troy resident Michael T. Ross. He took issue with her voting for House Bill 4145, which sought to create an extreme risk protection order law (also known as a red flag law).

Although it passed the House, the bill’s twin in the Senate was the one signed into law in May. When it takes effect next year, gun owners can have their firearms temporarily removed if someone close to them successfully petitions a court that the gun owner is reasonably expected to do harm.

“I know I did the right thing,” MacDonell told MLive in an interview after the petition was approved. She said she’s not worried about being recalled.

When the first-term lawmaker was campaigning last year, she said gun reform was among the top three issues her constituents mentioned. And in her “fairly blue” district, she said people come up to her in public and thank her for the job she’s doing.

“Recalls are about egregious behavior,” MacDonell said. “Recalls are not generally about voting the way your constituents want you to vote.”

Canvassers’ duty regarding recall petitions is to determine whether the reasoning – described at the top of the form that citizens would sign – is sufficiently clear and accurate. They rejected multiple petitions three weeks ago because the reasoning only listed bill numbers, not descriptions of what the bills do.

One recall petition moved forward last time: An attempt to remove Rep. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, for ceremoniously voting for Rep. Joe Tate, D-Detroit, to be House speaker.

Flashback: 7 ‘ghost’ recall petitions against Michigan lawmakers rejected; 1 approved

Recalling a lawmaker in Michigan is a tall task, however. No recall has been successful since the state’s law tightened a decade ago, and only one such petition drive has even submitted signatures. Each recall effort will need to collect a number of signatures equal to 25% of the votes in that district in last year’s governor race.

MacDonell won her race last November by 16 percentage points. Cavitt won his by 30 points.

The MacDonell petition and three others that appeared before the canvassing board on Monday were refilings of petitions from last time. Those other three, plus two new ones, included more than the bill number this time, but failed on other grounds.

A petition to recall Rep. Betsy Coffia, D-Traverse City, for the same reason as MacDonell was rejected because it described the bill as an “extreme risk protection order” and not an “act,” making it insufficiently clear.

Petitions against Democratic Reps. Noah Arbit of West Bloomfield, Kelly Breen of Novi, Jennifer Conlin of Ann Arbor and Denise Mentzer of Mt. Clemens noted their votes on HB 4474, which would expand Michigan’s hate crime law.

But the petitions weren’t clear enough, the board ruled.

“A yes vote could have indicated you are either for or against ethnic intimidation,” Republican canvasser Richard Houskamp argued about the faulty wording.

It was the second time the petitions against Arbit and Conlin failed. A seventh petition – seeking to recall Rep. Reggie Miller, D-Van Buren Township – was withdrawn before Monday’s hearing.

Mark Brewer, a lawyer hired by the House Democratic caucus to represent the lawmakers facing recall, accused the batch of petitioners to be part of a “concerted statewide effort” that is not forthcoming in its identity.

He showed canvassers a mailer, a newsletter and printed text messages that show organized efforts and meetings connected to the recalls of at least Arbit and Breen.

On the mailer against Arbit, a political action committee in Tennessee is listed. Its bank account, Brewer said, is based in Virginia.

“These are not spontaneous, grassroots efforts at all,” he said. “They are being organized and coordinated statewide with the involvement of at least one out-of-state PAC and a number of other individuals inside the state.”

Related: Recall for ceremonial vote is ‘frivolous,’ says targeted GOP lawmaker

Houskamp also took a shot at cloudy groups behind the recalls.

“The reality is that there’s someone, some organization or multiple organizations who remain anonymous who are behind the scenes,” he said. “It just seems like that’s so against anything ethical.”

Brewer also argued every petition should be thrown out because no filer included the required campaign finance disclosure on the bottom. But any violation, the board’s legal counsel concluded, is for the secretary of state’s office to deal with when signatures are submitted.

Brewer told reporters he will appeal the MacDonell decision and file a campaign finance complaint against every petition. Upon filing an appeal, there is an automatic 40-day stay on collecting signatures.

Republican canvasser Tony Daunt told reporters he expects the petitioners who were denied Monday to continue making attempts until they’re approved. But, he added, the idea of trying a recall lawmakers just over a year before an election is “kind of silly.”

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