Michigan eyes November election with no ballot proposals for first time in years
Abortion rights. Marijuana legalization. Absentee and early voting. Redistricting. Term limits. These are the issues that have come before Michigan voters in recent elections. But this fall, Michigan voters are headed for the first election since 2016 without any statewide ballot proposals to consider.
Citizen-led efforts to change Michigan laws have faltered this year. Campaigns either missed the deadline for filing voter signatures to land a spot on the ballot or encountered legal setbacks.
With the deadlines passed for questions to make the ballot via petition, here are some of the big ones that missed the mark.
Proposal to eliminate property taxes misses filing deadline
A campaign to eliminate property taxes in Michigan missed the filing deadline for proposed amendments to the state constitution. Karla Wagner, a Cannon Township resident who launched "AxMITax," characterized the campaign as a way to lower costs for Michigan households and rein in government spending. Municipal finance experts warned that the effort would have devastated communities with severe cuts to public services funded by property taxes such as libraries and schools.
Campaign to repeal clean energy legislation doesn't file
In Michigan, voters can initiate legislation that lawmakers can approve or send to the ballot. While several campaigns to introduce voter-initiated legislation were underway this election cycle, none filed signatures by the May deadline to qualify for the November ballot. That includes one that would have repealed a new law in Michigan that gives state regulators the authority to decide where to locate large wind and solar projects to help achieve 100% clean energy by 2040, a goal Democrats approved last year.
Minimum wage proposal fails to make ballot
Another campaign to introduce voter-initiated legislation to increase Michigan's minimum wage was blocked by the courts. The state elections panel deadlocked on certifying the proposal and the Michigan Supreme Court declined the campaign's request to order the board to approve it. But the court could still decide the fate of Michigan's minimum wage law as it considers a separate lawsuit alleging the Michigan Legislature acted unconstitutionally when it adopted a minimum wage petition and amended it in the same session to delay the proposed wage increase and preserve a tipped minimum wage.
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Referendum on gun safety law ends circulation
Voters won't have a chance to take up referenda on any new Michigan laws either. A campaign to overturn Michigan's new "red flag" gun law stopped circulating its petition, according to Michigan's Bureau of Elections. The new law allows a judge to temporarily bar someone who poses an imminent threat to themselves or others from possessing firearms.
In theory, lawmakers still have time to put constitutional amendments and legislative referendums on the November ballot. But they have not given any indication that they plan to do so.
Contact Clara Hendrickson at [email protected] or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: No ballot proposals expected in Michigan election this fall