The League of Women Voters of Michigan, along with two local chapters, have pulled their sponsorship of the upcoming Saginaw Valley State University Great Lakes Bay Region Candidate Forum for the 35th District state Senate special election after organizers declined to include Libertarian candidate Ali Sledz.
Currently, the 35th District forum is set to feature Democrat Chedrick Greene and Republican Jason Tunney, both Saginaw natives. The result of the May 5 special election will determine whether Democrats hold on to the state Senate majority through the end of the year. They hold only a 19-18 majority in the chamber.
The forum is an opportunity for candidates to answer questions in front of local voters for the high-stakes election, one the Libertarian Party of Michigan believes they are being excluded from. Saginaw is considered a swing area and has elected both Democrats and Republicans into public office in recent years.
The LWV of Michigan were joined by the local Midland and Saginaw chapters in pulling their sponsorship of the forum. Their decision was ultimately made because of a policy difference with SVSU regarding who should be eligible to be on the forum stage.
"All candidates for the race must be invited from all political parties, including third party candidates," the LWV of Michigan said in a statement to WCMU. They also said write-in candidates may be invited if they register in time.
In 2024, the LWV of Midland and Saginaw sponsored SVSU's forum for Michigan's 8th Congressional District race featuring Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet and Republican Paul Junge. No other candidates were a part of the forum despite four third party candidates also being on the ballot.
SVSU told WCMU they have invited all candidates that meet their forum guidelines, which includes receiving at least 10% support among voters in a reputable poll or in a prior election. However, Sledz argues there isn't data from the previous 35th District state Senate election to go off of.
"We use the 10% polling (threshold) and there's no polls right now, so we go off the last election. Well, the last election for our area didn't have a Libertarian in it, so we don't know how we would have polled," Sledz said. "That seems a little ridiculous."
The Libertarian Party of Michigan held a convention on Jan. 17 in accordance with state law to nominate Sledz for the ballot, which took place two weeks before Tunney and Greene were nominated in the primary on Feb 3.
"I'm not expecting to win," Sledz said. "I'm a third party candidate who can't even get on a forum stage. But I want to hold these men, because it's always men, accountable for the decisions they're making that are affecting the people that live right here."
Libertarian Party of Michigan 2nd Vice Chair Trevor Step says SVSU is using a poll that did not include a third choice. He believes there is a conflict of interest to have a forum funded with taxpayer dollars that doesn't represent all voters.
"It gives them an excuse when they're saying a candidate needs 10%. Well, a candidate the media dismisses and doesn't recognize will have a higher threshold to get the message out there," Step said. "They continually keep us out and then say we didn't get the votes."
The Greene campaign told WCMU that SVSU is following their guidelines. The Tunney campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
The forum is set to take place at 7 p.m. on March 24 in the Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts in Curtiss Hall at SVSU. Tickets are free, but must be reserved ahead of time. More information on the event and how to reserve tickets can be found on the SVSU website.
