Michigan voters will decide on two statewide questions when they cast their ballots for Election Day this November.
Proposal 1 is a question on whether to convene a new state constitutional convention.
Proposal 2 asks whether to limit political donations from some utilities and large government contractors. The measure survived a last-ditch challenge to keep it off the ballot at the Michigan Supreme Court this week.
Christy McGillivray with leadership for the Michiganders for Money out of Politics campaign said the next step is holding hundreds of events to talk with voters about the initiative.
“This kind of reform is so exciting that we know it’s going to drive up turnout, and when our democracy has to answer to voters primarily first and when voters come out and vote because they’re so excited to do so, we get better outcomes,” McGillivray said.
The measure is already facing pushback from opponents who argue the campaign isn’t being fully up-front about everyone the question could affect.
John Sellek is spokesperson for the opposition campaign Protect MI Free Speech.
“The gist of what we have to do between now and November 3 is to educate people that nothing is as simple as it appears on the surface. They need to understand all the pros and cons before they vote on this in the fall,” Sellek said.
A third measure, a proposed constitutional amendment to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote, will not appear. Michigan Supreme Court ruled against that measure's effort this week as well.
Americans for Citizen Voting chair Paul Jacob said the campaign got a raw deal.
“We can argue all the fine points. But the bottom line is there were enough Michigan registered voters who signed this petition for it to appear on the ballot. We just didn’t correct the errors that the Bureau of Elections made fast enough,” Jacob said.
The group wanted a state elections board to accept what it said was proof that it turned in enough valid signatures.
But Bureau of Elections staff found many didn’t match state records, and the board deadlocked on whether to accept affidavits trying to fix them. The timing of when those affidavits came in was among the deciding factors.
Jacob said the campaign will try again in 2028.
