Michigan voters unlikely to see any statewide proposals on ballot in November

BY JON KING, MICHIGAN ADVANCE

MICHIGAN—Monday was the deadline for petitions to be filed for proposed citizen-initiated constitutional amendments to make the November general election ballot, and none of the eight separate efforts made it across the finish line.

The Michigan Secretary of State’s office confirmed for the Michigan Advance that the July 8 deadline expired with no signed petitions received, meaning the only possible way such a proposal or referendum might appear on the November ballot is if the Democratic-led state Legislature did so by the Sept. 6 deadline. However, that is somewhat unlikely to occur as majority Democrats maintain just a slim lead in both chambers and a supermajority vote would be needed.

That being the case, this November would be the first even-year election since 2016 Michigan voters would not be deciding on a statewide petition, in contrast to years like 2018 when Proposal 1 legalized marijuana and 2022 when Proposal 3 enshrined abortion rights into Michigan’s constitution.

Perhaps the biggest effort that had been trying to make the ballot this year was AxMITax, which sought to eliminate all property taxes by amending the Michigan constitution to prohibit real property taxes and alternative means of taxation on real or personal property, require 60% of voters to approve local taxes and require two-thirds vote of Legislature to increase any state tax by more than .1%.

Organizer Karla Wagner posted to social media Tuesday the effort had failed to get the 600,000 signatures they wanted, although only 446,198 valid signatures were actually required. Regardless, Wagner blamed the State Board of Canvassers for hampering its efforts.

“We haven’t decided if we’re going to go back to the board or not because they are the ones that sandbagged us so long last time,” she said, “Instead of the 180 days that we were supposed to get, we only ended up collecting signatures about 135 days. So 600,000 signatures in 135 days, we knew was going to be a huge, huge ask, especially when you’re starting from zero.”

After initially submitting their petition language last October, the group and the state board had a prolonged discussion over multiple meetings about the wording of the summary language, with concerns expressed over whether the petition properly informed voters what impact eliminating property taxes would have, including eliminating billions of dollars for public school funding.

While the language wasn’t approved until the canvassers’ Jan. 19 meeting, conversations over the form of the petition continued until the group decided to move forward without pre-approval as the clock was ticking toward Monday’s deadline.

Wagner said they planned to regroup and seek to place the petition on the 2026 ballot, although she said certain wording in the current petition meant they would have to start from scratch and none of the signatures already collected would be valid.

“We are going to have to start all over with the collection of the signatures. Good news and bad news,” said Wagner. “The good news is we’ve done all of the work with the attorney already, so there will be very little additional attorney cost.”

Other proposed ballot measures that failed to meet their deadlines included;

Citizens for Local Choice sought to reverse an amendment to the Clean and Renewable Energy Waste Reduction Act. Signed into law at the end of last year, the law gives the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) authority over permitting for large scale solar wind and battery storage developments. 

Referendums of Michigan Petition 2 wanted to “overturn Public Act 38 of 2023, which creates the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act.” Also known as “red flag” laws, the legislation was signed into law in May 2023 by Whitmer, and  set up a system in which a court can be petitioned to issue an order prohibiting someone “from purchasing or possessing a firearm” if they are deemed to be a danger to themselves or others.

Michigan Initiatives for Action sought to initiate legislation to amend the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) to include the executive and legislative branches. While the petition effort failed, the state Senate finally passed long-pending legislation to make the change just before it adjourned for summer recess.

Michigan Justice Advocacy wanted to reinstate a good time credit program that allows prisoners to earn good time credits that reduce their sentences. Legislation to do the same has been stalled since being introduced early in 2023, prompting criminal justice reform advocates to rally last month and urge movement by majority Democrats.

Raise the Wage MI Petitions would have raised Michigan’s minimum wage to $15 by 2027. However, it was denied a chance to make the ballot when the State Board of Canvassers  deadlocked in a dispute over the petition’s language, and the Michigan Supreme Court issued an order in June declining to intervene.

Two efforts that never got off the ground included the Michigan Agriculture Land Preservation Act, which would have prohibited utility-scale solar installations on land that is zoned for agricultural use, as well as a plan to overturn Michigan’s new presidential primary date, which was moved up to the fourth Tuesday in February from its previous spot on the second Tuesday in March.

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This coverage was republished from Michigan Advance pursuant to a Creative Commons license.