An Albion man has filed no fewer than five petitions to recall Nessel. While all his previous attempts failed to be approved, the latest has been cleared for circulation by the state.
The Michigan Board of Canvassers has approved a petition seeking to recall state Attorney General Dana Nessel.
According to MLive.com, Nessel is one of several state officials facing recall initiatives.
The petition against Nessel, submitted by Albion resident Chad Baase, was approved during an October 15th meeting of the Michigan Board of Canvassers. Baase seeks to remove Nessel from office due to the attorney general’s announcement that she would increase enforcement of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order increasing protection for residents and staff at long-term care facilities during the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Baase, adds MLive.com, is also seeking to recall Gov. Whitmer, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
Baase’s approved petition is the fifth he has submitted in his attempts to remove Nessel from office; all Baase’s prior filings were rejected by the Board.
In order to add Nessel’s name for recall in any future election, Baase will have to collect over one million signatures inside a 60-day period.
Baase plans to begin his drive to recall both Gov. Whitmer and Nessel on November 1st. To reach as many prospective voters as possible, he is planning to circulate petitions at Michigan polling locations during the general election. He plans to “double-back” and contact anyone who signs off, to see whether they would prefer Nessel be removed from office at a later date.
MLive.com notes that the official reason for recall, to be included on circulated petitions, is as follows:
“Dana Nessel, on Thursday, August 6, 2020, Announced [sic] plans ramping up efforts to enforce Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-148.”
Baase says he opposes Nessel’s enforcement of Gov. Whitmer’s orders, the latter of which he believes are unconstitutional.
“Nessel violated her oath of office by enforcing an executive order which violated the Michigan constitution [sic], therefore she violated the constitution [sic],” Baase said. “She needs to be held accountable.”
Ballotpedia News says that, to date, Michiganders have submitted at least 20 recall petitions against Gov. Whitmer, roughly half of which were rejected.
Nessel, in comparison, has faced five recall petitions—all of which were submitted by Baase, with the first four failing to garner the Board of Canvassers’ approval.
Somewhat interestingly, MLive.com observes that Baase—an entrepreneur who paints and maintains water towers—was paroled from prison earlier this year. Baase had been serving a sentence between 2.5 and 20 years for making a false report or threat of terrorism. He later claimed that he had been intoxicated at the time he sent a series of threatening Facebook messages, and has since learned to “use the proper protocols to get things done.”
Sources
Dana Nessel recall, Attorney General of Michigan (2020)
Effort to recall Gov. Whitmer a ‘David versus Goliath scenario’ as multiple groups begin the process
Michigan board approves secretary of state recall for circulation
Recall petition for Michigan’s attorney general gets green light
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