Ferguson activists file lawsuit after recall effort falls short

A group of Ferguson activists say they have filed a lawsuit against the Missouri city's clerk and St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners, alleging that they failed to accurately count signatures and follow proper procedures in a citizens' petition the group submitted to recall the mayor.

The lawsuit, which was filed in St. Louis County's circuit court, asks that the court order recall proceedings against Mayor James Knowles be initiated. The lawsuit was provided by the activist group to reporters late Wednesday after the court had closed.

The St. Louis County Board of Election Commissioners determined last week that activists backing the recall fell 27 valid signatures short of what they needed to get the recall on the ballot. The city charter requires that petitioners collect signatures from 15% of the city's voters to get a recall on the ballot.

The city said in an e-mail that it had not been served with the lawsuit and did not offer further comment.

Backers of the recall criticized Knowles for overseeing a city government that activists say was hostile to black residents for many years before the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager who was fatally shot last year after a confrontation with a white police officer, put the national spotlight on Ferguson.

Knowles also faced ridicule from protesters when he claimed early in the protests that Ferguson had no racial divide.

The activists, which called themselves Ground Level Support, submitted more than 3,300 signatures, but 1549 were invalidated by the election commissioners. The bulk of the signatures ruled invalid were from signatories that did not live in the city or were not registered voters.

Dozens more were invalidated for technical reasons, including the commissioners finding that the petitions did not include petitioners signature or had a "wrong" signature, or one that is different than one election officials have on file.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs say more than 28 signatures that were invalidated because the election commissioner found they had "no signature" or a "wrong signature" did in fact have valid signatures.

The only Ferguson city official named in the suit is city clerk Megan Asikainen. The lead plaintiff in the suit is Ferguson resident Bob Hudgins, who made unsuccessful run for city council in April.