Michigan GOP advances bill to make ballot drives harder
LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Republicans moved Wednesday to curtail ballot initiatives by advancing a measure limiting how many signatures could come from any one region of the state, the latest proposal assailed by critics as an unconstitutional, lameduck power grab from incoming Democratic officeholders or voters.
The House passed the bill 60-49 along mostly party lines in a late-night session many hours after hundreds of liberal activists demonstrated at the Capitol. The new legislation was sent to the GOP-controlled Senate for consideration next week.
Republican lawmakers are trying to make it harder to mount ballot drives after voters last month legalized marijuana for recreational use, overhauled the process of redrawing district lines that the GOP dominated in recent decades and expanded voting options.
It is seen as the newest attempt to diminish Democrats’ influence before they come into power in Michigan and Wisconsin, which have gained national attention and have sparked protests in both states.
The bill to tighten requirements for ballot initiatives initially drew opposition from across the political spectrum, though the House later made changes designed to appease Right to Life of Michigan.
“I think this bill is remarkably undemocratic,” said Erica Peresman, a volunteer from the Detroit suburb of Birmingham who helped collect signatures for the initiative to expand voting options.
“It’s about putting up obstacles on top of the very significant signature requirement and petition rules that already exist to make it more expensive, more difficult and more burdensome for citizens like me to participate in the democratic process,” she said.
The legislation would affect ballot committees initiating constitutional amendments, bills and referendums by capping the number of signatures that could come from an individual congressional district at 15 percent.
There is no geographic threshold currently, and the measure could dilute the ability to circulate petitions primarily in more heavily populated, likely Democratic-leaning areas. Petition circulators also would have to file an affidavit with the state if they are a paid signature gatherer.