Updates About Ballot Proposals

Let MI Kids Learn, a ballot initiative that would establish a scholarship program to provide grants to low-income students for education expenses, submitted signatures to the Bureau of Elections on August 10. The initiative, supported by the DeVos family, collected 520,598 signatures.

Under this initiative, public school students could receive up to $500 and public school students with disabilities could receive $1,100. These funds could be used for transportation, tutoring, tuition, mental health support, and other expenses that are education related. Private school students, however, could collect up to $7,000. Another aspect of the initiative would allow taxpayers that contribute to the program to claim up to $500 in tax credits, with an annual maximum starting at $500 million.

Similar efforts have been underway in other states and the outcomes appear to be somewhat mixed in part due to the fact that the program performance is not easy to objectively assess. This proposal has drawn criticism from the State Board of Education president Casandra Ulbrich and the chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, Lavora Barnes, among others. According to the For MI Kids coalition, led by Ulbrich, this initiative could reduce state revenue by approximately $90 million in 2024 and continue to reduce state revenues annually.

Should the signatures submitted for the ballot initiative be approved by the Board of State Canvassers, voters would have the opportunity to vote on the initiative during the 2024 election. However, the Michigan State Legislature could choose to take up the initiative for a vote if certified by the Bureau of Elections.

On July 19, Court of Claims Judge Douglas Shapiro ruled in Mothering Justice vs. Dana Nessel that the Legislature violated the Michigan Constitution when, in 2018, it amended two citizen initiatives. One initiative would raise the minimum wage to $12 per hour over a period of years with an inflation adjustment in place once the maximum was reached. It would also eliminate the lower tipped minimum wage. A separate initiative would allow employees to earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked up to a maximum of 72 hours per year.

Prior to the 2018 election, the Republican-led legislature took up and passed the two ballot proposals, thus preventing them from going before voters. After the election, the Legislature then voted to amend the ballot proposals, effectively limiting the pool of employers subject to the law to those with 50 or more employees and reducing the sick time hours that could be earned.

The judge ruled that nothing in the Michigan Constitution empowers the Legislature to adopt and amend an initiative petition in the same legislative session, and that doing so effectively undermines the ability of voters to decide.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and other groups like the AFL-CIO praised the order. While several groups from the business community, including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association, warned the ruling could have a crippling effect on employers and employees.

A stay is expected to be filed. Business groups may also choose to appeal.

On July 11, two ballot campaigns submitted signature counts far exceeding the 425,059 valid signature threshold necessary to be considered for the November ballot.

Officials with the Promote the Vote ballot initiative announced on July 11 they had submitted over 650,000 signatures to secure a spot on the November ballot. The initiative would enshrine in the Michigan Constitution a “fundamental right to vote”, streamlining access to absentee voting, among other things.

The effort contrasts with a Republican-led effort – Secure MI Vote – which has yet to submit the requisite number of signatures to be added to the ballot.

On the same day, officials with the Reproductive Freedom for All initiative submitted over 750,000 signatures – the most of any ballot proposal in the state’s history – for a proposal that would enshrine abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution.

The Bureau of Elections is currently reviewing the validity of the signatures.