Election officials in Michigan are “confident” that the five Republican gubernatorial candidates caught submitting fake ballot access signature petitions, including polling frontrunners former Detroit police Chief James Craig and self-funding businessman Perry Johnson – who already sank millions into the campaign, and are pretty much fucked no matter how much the MAGA party wants to whine over rules against election cheating being applied to them, the Detroit News reports.

“Disqualifying two of the highest polling candidates in this primary, as well as three others who have expended significant resources in their campaigns is disenfranchising to Republican voters who ultimately should be the decision-makers,” said Michigan GOP Chief of Staff Paul Cordes to the four member State Board of Canvassers on Thursday, basically telling the canvassers that the fake signatures should count anyway and these rules are stupid and gay.

“There is nothing to suggest that there are valid signatures in there,” said Michigan Elections Bureau director Jonathan Brater. Naturally the five candidates are going to take state elections officials to court, but their chances of overturning the board’s decision are shaky at best, as state law puts the burden of proof on them to show the tens of thousands of fake signatures on the petitions are real. “They have the ultimate responsibility,” said election lawyer John Pirich.