DETROIT — A set of what appears to be forged petition signatures could complicate a prominent U.S. House candidate's bid to secure a spot on the Democratic primary ballot in August.

Former state Sen. Adam Hollier's petitions are facing a formal challenge by first-term Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar of Detroit, whom Hollier is looking to unseat in Michigan's 13th District that covers much of Detroit, the Grosse Pointes and Downriver communities.

A review of a subset of Hollier's petition signatures by two outside analysts not involved in either Democrat's campaign said the signatures in question might spell trouble for Hollier's efforts to qualify for the ballot, though election officials could still find he has enough other valid signatures from registered voters to meet the 1,000-signature threshold required.

Over nine petition pages, dozens of signatures collected by the same circulator, Londell Thomas of Harper Woods, appear to be from the same person, with distinct similarities in handwriting and the same long flourish at the end of each line. Thomas did not return calls or emails this week for comment.

"They all look very, very similar. There's substantial challenges. There's no question about that," said John Pirich, a retired Michigan elections lawyer who reviewed the signature set.

"There are also some that I think are not as substantial. But that's going to be determined by examining the entire challenge against the total universe of signatures submitted."

Thomas, co-owner of Groundmind Strategies in Southfield, was one of the two main circulators who collected the roughly 1,555 signatures submitted by the campaign of Hollier, a former state senator who served in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Cabinet.

Julie Matuzak, a Democratic former member of the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, also said the subset of signatures appeared to be fraudulent while cautioning that she's no handwriting expert.

"I’ve looked at a lot of petitions on my 10 years on the Board of State Canvassers," Matuzak said. "I would certainly think there was enough to refer this to a prosecutor."

She pointed to the fine print at the bottom of each petition, where the circulator must certify that each signature is the "genuine" signature of the person purporting to sign. The fine print also states that it's a criminal misdemeanor for circulators to sign a name other than their own or to "knowingly" make a false statement on the certificate.

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