A petition to raise Michigan’s minimum wage to $10.10 an hour did not get enough valid signatures to move forward.
That’s according to a state elections board which rejected the petition Wednesday. The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Jake Neher reports.
A bipartisan majority of the Board of State Canvassers threw out dozens of signatures after a last-minute challenge from opponents. They say the signatures were from people who signed the petition more than once – which is illegal under Michigan election law.
Frank Houston is a spokesperson for the campaign trying to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. He claims the process was rigged against them.
“The rules of the game were changed at the last minute,” he says. “And I think it’s pretty clear that they were looking for an end result, which is to keep it off the ballot.”
Houston says the group is considering a court challenge.
Earlier this year, state lawmakers and Governor Rick Snyder approved raising Michigan’s minimum wage to $9.25 an hour by 2018.