Michigan political party disclosure change proposed

LANSING (AP) -- Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson proposed changes last week that she said are aimed at preventing fraud when new political parties try to get established in the state. The Republican's proposals come after two men who had ties to the Oakland County Democratic Party were charged in an alleged scheme to fool voters last year. A group calling itself "The Tea Party" attempted to qualify as a political party and run candidates on the November ballot. The effort wasn't backed by tea party activists, who along with Republicans considered the effort a scam to siphon away votes from their candidates. The group was not allowed on the ballot. Johnson's proposal would require disclosure of petition circulation activities as part of the campaign finance process for qualifying a newly created political party. "This transparency will allow all Michigan citizens to follow the money and see who is behind a new political party," Johnson said in a statement. Johnson's proposal also would require public notice to be filed prior to holding a convention for a minor political party. "The Tea Party" told state officials it had a convention to nominate candidates in late July. But regular tea party activists weren't notified and the convention wasn't advertised. The group sought to run candidates for attorney general and secretary of state, along with other candidates. Michael McGuinness, the former chairman of the Oakland County Democratic Party, and Jason Bauer, the county party's former operations director, are accused of forging documents and slating candidates under the Tea Party name. The candidates didn't know their names were being used. McGuinness and Bauer are charged with election crimes and forgery. They were recently released on bond. Both quit their Democratic Party posts last summer. Published: Tue, Mar 29, 2011