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 Elections and Ethics Committee passed the bill 6-3 along party lines on a day when hundreds of protesters again demonstrated at the Capitol.

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.

The move also comes a week after GOP lawmakers maneuvered to scale back minimum wage and paid sick time laws that began as ballot initiatives.

At the behest of the business lobby, the Legislat ure pre- emptively adopted the wage and leave measures before the election, rather than let them go to a public vote, so it would be easier to change them after.

The Michigan bill to tighten requirements for ballot initiatives 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 10 percent.

There is no geographic threshold currently.

Petition circulators also would have to file an affidavit with the state saying if they are a paid or volunteer signature gatherer.