HOUGHTON — The bipartisan Board of State Canvassers on Monday unanimously approved ballot language on a petition to recall Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

The petition was filed by downstate Albion resident, Chad Basse, 39, in response to a March executive order under which Whitmer ordered businesses across the state she deemed non-essential to shut down temporarily.

Executive Order 2020-42 defines who is an essential employee and who is not; defines what business must close; prohibits the sale of items including plants and seeds sold at nurseries; prohibits public and private gatherings of any number of persons not part of a single household, which includes but is not limited to religious services. Consistent with MCL 10.33 and MCL 30.405(3), a willful violation of the order is a misdemenor.

The petition’s language was scheduled to be reviewed Thursday, April 30, by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers via a virtual meeting, however, the governor’s legal counsel took issue with how Whitmer’s office was notified of the petition, mlive stated on April 30.

Michigan Election Law requires the board of state canvassers to notify an officer who is being petitioned for recall at least three days prior to a hearing. But the notification didn’t come from Jonathan Brater, director of elections and secretary to the Board of State Canvassers. It was sent instead by Melissa Malerman, of the Secretary of State’s Bureau of Elections, whom Brater asked to make the notification.

The board acknowledged that Brater has often asked staff to make such notifications on his behalf. But the governor’s counsel said it was an improper notification that would make Thursday’s hearing “procedurally defective.”

Aaron Van Langevelde, vice-chair of the Board of State Canvassers, called the claim “a disingenuous argument by the governor’s counsel.”

Basse is not the only Michigan resident to oppose Whitmer’s executive orders. Seven small businesses filed a lawsuit in federal court in Grand Rapids on April 28, alleging Whitmer’s orders are unconstitutionally arbritrary and discriminatory, because the orders permit some businesses to operate while other businesses in similar situations were forced to close. The U.S. Justice Department filed a “statement of interest” regarding the lawsuit.

On May 29, Whitmer’s office released a statement in which the statement of interest “seeks to undermine the health and safety of Michigan residents.” As Whitmer has done in past challenges to her executive orders, she accused the White House, declaring: “It is crystal clear that this challenge is coming from directly from the White House, which is ignoring the risk of a second wave of the virus and pushing too quickly to roll back public health guidelines.”

The DOJ, however, responded by ignoring Whitmer’s allegation. In a news release through the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Assistant Attorney General, Eric Dreiband, said that while the U.S. Constitution does permit appropriate state and local government restrictions to protect the general welfare of the public, “it does not permit arbitrary limits that limit the right of all people in our country to be treated equally and fairly by the government.”

Basse, who filed the recall petition, is running for election to the Michigan House of Representatives to represent District 62 on the Republican ticket in August.