This ballot proposal takes aim at DTE and dark money in Michigan politics

A new petition called Mop Up Michigan wants to give Michigan voters the chance to ban political donations from DTE, Consumers Energy, and other monopoly corporations—and expose dark money along the way.

MICHIGAN—Some of the most powerful corporations in Michigan are hoping you don’t hear about this new ballot proposal. It’s called Mop Up Michigan, and it aims to ban political donations from the state’s biggest utility companies like DTE and Consumers Energy, along with other big corporations that are making huge money off government contracts.

@gandernewsroomA new petition called Mop Up Michigan wants to give Michigan voters the chance to ban political donations from DTE, Consumers Energy, and other monopoly corporations—and expose dark money along the way. 👀♬ original sound – The Gander

And if it makes its way to the ballot next year, Michigan voters—not lawmakers—would get to decide whether those companies should still be allowed to bankroll Michigan politics. 

Here’s the deal:

Mop Up Michigan stands for Michiganders for Money Out of Politics. Organizers want this proposal on the ballot. And to get there, they need to collect about 357,000 signatures from registered voters within a 180-day period. 

Folks with clipboards are on the streets now, so that clock is ticking.

And if it passes, the measure would accomplish three main things:

It would ban regulated utilities like DTE and Consumers from donating to state candidates and political parties. It would also ban corporations with more than $250,000 a year in government contracts from donating to the state legislators who oversee them. And finally, it would force so-called “dark money” groups to disclose who’s funding political ads that try to sway elections.

Over the last several months, supporters have been backing this plan for one main reason: big utility money is everywhere in Lansing. One statistic they keep pointing to: DTE gave money to 138 out of 148 state lawmakers the last time the full Legislature was up for election. 

And at the same time, Michiganders are dealing with rising utility rates, some of the worst reliability in the country, and the corporations that own them posting record profits. Supporters argue that’s not a coincidence; it’s pay-to-play. And Michiganders are losing the game.

Organizers are also tying this directly to all the data centers that keep popping up across Michigan, arguing it shows how corporate money is directly shaping state policy on the issue.

“ The root cause of this kind of economic development,” Sean McBrearty, director of Clean Water Action, said during a recent rally at the Capitol, “is political corruption, plain and simple. …  Data centers here mean that DTE gets new gas plants and you and I get stuck with the bill.”

So what does this all mean?  

Mop Up Michigan wants to ask voters a basic question: Should big utility companies like DTE and other giant government contractors be allowed to keep pouring money into Michigan’s elections—or not? They want Michiganders to decide for themselves at the polls in 2026.

For more information on how to sign the petition or get involved, visit momupmichigan.org.