A Michigan court ruled that several recall efforts against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer can proceed after the governor had argued that they were not appropriate.
The Michigan Court of Appeals on May 27 ruled (pdf) that the state’s “Board of State Canvassers correctly approved” several petitions that were “at issue.”
Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, both Democrats, had challenged the recall petitions. They were initiated over Whitmer’s executive orders that were issued during the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic.
The court affirmed that six petitions that were being challenged by the state’s executive branch could go ahead, but it remanded one due to an error and said it may be corrected.
According to the order, the court made a reference to an argument made by Whitmer’s counsel saying that one of the COVID-19-related recall petitions lacks “clarity because it uses ambiguous and undefined terms, particularly with its reference to ‘bars.’”
“The Governor argues that the word ‘bars’ is ambiguous because dictionaries define the term not only as an establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, but also as a counter at which food or beverages are served, or a shop that sells nonalcoholic beverages, such as coffee,” the court said. It added later that “we reject this argument” and noted that “any person invited to sign the petition would very likely envision a reference to a conventional tavern, where people can purchase and consume alcoholic beverages, when faced with the wording, ‘closing indoor service at bars.’”
Read full story here: Source: Court Rules Efforts to Recall Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Can Proceed