Rep. Gregg Underheim, R-Oshkosh, will stay on the ballot for state school superintendent after the State Elections Board ruled to keep him eligible despite allegations brought against him by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin of allowing felons to gather signatures for his campaign.

Controversy has surrounded his place in the election the past several weeks due to charges launched by the Democratic Party regarding his nomination papers.

Underheim’s campaign turned in little more than the required 2,000 signatures a candidate needs to qualify for his place on the ballot.

The Democratic Party claimed two people appointed to collect Underheim’s signatures were felons. Because it is illegal for felons to collect signatures if they are still under the supervision of the state, the Democrats contended those signatures were not valid.

“Because there were so many inconsistencies and because it was so clear that Rep. Underheim wasn’t even in control of his own campaign, we decided to get involved,” Seth Bofelli, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said.

Of Underheim’s signatures, 32 are in question because of the possibility of felons involved. The State Elections Board eventually decided it would count them, since the Democrats brought the charges to the board past the deadline for contesting nomination papers.

However, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the board decided to discount 41 signatures collected by the two individuals convicted of forgery, because of evidence in a filed complaint compiled by Democrats.

The Democrat’s list of grievances also contained claims that there were many signatures with out-of-state addresses or addresses which did not list a municipality of residence.

Figuring in the charges brought by the Democrats and other minor errors within his papers, Underheim’s total amount was brought to 2,014 signatures, allowing him to continue in the race.

“The complaint at its core was a frivolous one,” said Republican Party Spokesperson Chris Lato. “This is a pattern for the Democrats in Wisconsin in that they seek to limit ballot access. They did it last year when they tried to kick Ralph Nader off the ballot and they did it this time with Gregg Underheim.”

While the Republicans view the charges as part of a smear campaign, the Democrats claim to be simply upholding the law.

“It’s clear that someone else here is pulling the strings for Underheim,” Bofelli said. “We asked him some legitimate questions and they were questions he couldn’t answer. We were glad the State Elections Board turned it over to the district attorney to get to the bottom of this.”

It is possible the State Elections Board could still elect to remove Underheim from the ballot, depending on what the prosecutors find. However this is unlikely, as ballots will be printed by the end of the month.

If Underheim is placed on the ballot, the candidates will be Todd Stelzel, a teacher from Black Earth; UW-Whitewater professor Paul Yvarra; incumbent Elizabeth Burmaster; and Underheim.

In the February primary, two of those candidates will be eliminated. The final decision will be made during the April 5 election.