The Michigan Department of State made available to House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, the results of its preliminary findings of the recall petition filed against him.

The petitioners filed 15,739 signatures with the Bureau of Elections on May 1. While 8,724 signatures are needed to put the recall question on the Aug. 5 primary ballot, only 8,224 were found to be valid and those of registered voters under the Bureau of Elections' review.

"Verifying the registration of every signer is a meticulous and time-consuming process," Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land said. "However, it's a necessary step to ensure the integrity of our elections. I appreciate the hard work of our Bureau of Elections team and the support of local election officials during this review."

It is important to note that this is not a final determination. The preliminary findings provide the status of the first two steps that the filing official must take under Michigan law. While some challenges have been filed by the officeholder, they are not included in these findings. The Bureau of Elections will review these challenges as well as the remainder of those filed by the officeholder, who must file all challenges by June 2.

There are four distinct steps involved in canvassing recall petitions:

• By May 8 the petition must be reviewed on its face to determine that it is in correct form and that entries such as dates and addresses are properly completed.
• By May 23 the registration status of petition signers and circulators must be verified.
• By June 2 the officeholders must complete their filing of challenges to the registration status of signers and circulators or to the genuineness of their signatures.
• By June 5 a final determination must be made as to whether the recall petition is sufficient.

Results of the preliminary findings are as follows:

• Total number of valid signatures required - 8,724
• Total number of signatures filed - 15,739
• Result of face review - 14,659 face valid signatures; 1,080 invalid signatures.
• Result of registration verifications - 4,417 signatures discounted under signer registration verifications; 2,018 signatures discounted under circulator registration verifications.
• Summary of initial petition review - 8,224 signatures accepted; 7,515 invalid signatures.

No further summaries will be released prior to the final report.