State House candidate loses appeal over 2012 forged signatures

GRAND HAVEN (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court says a man who tried to get a judicial candidate on the ballot in western Michigan with forged signatures can be charged with a felony.

It’s a blow for Brandon Hall, who now is running in the Republican primary for a House seat in the Grand Haven area.

He’s accused of forging signatures on petitions for a judicial candidate in Ottawa County in 2012. The state appeals court said misdemeanor charges seemed appropriate because that’s the warning that appears on the petitions.

But in a recent unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court says the allegations qualify as a felony.

Hall says he’s disappointed.