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Michigan 2020 ballot measures
- Election date: Nov. 3
- Registration deadline(s): Nov. 3 (in person); Oct. 19 (online; by mail)
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: Yes
- Recount laws
- Early voting starts: Sept. 24 (Michigan permits early voting in the form of in-person absentee voting)
- Absentee/mail voting deadline(s): Nov. 3 (received)
- Processing, counting, and challenging absentee/mail-in ballots
- Voter ID: Photo ID (affidavit option for those without ID)
- Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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Two statewide ballot measures were certified for the ballot in Michigan for the election on November 3, 2020.
On the ballot
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRCA | Proposal 1 | Parks | Revises formula for how state and local park funds from trusts can be spent |  |
| LRCA | Proposal 2 | Law enforcement | Requires search warrant to access a person's electronic data | |
Getting measures on the ballot
Citizens
In Michigan, citizens have the power to initiate constitutional amendments, state statutes, and veto referendums. Statutes are indirect initiatives in Michigan, meaning that the state legislature has the option to approve an initiative without a vote of electors. Voters approved a constitutional amendment for initiative and referendum powers in 1908.
The signature requirement for citizen-initiated measures was based on votes cast for governor in 2018. In 2020, the following numbers of signatures were required in Michigan:
- 425,059 signatures for constitutional amendments;
- 340,047 signatures for state statutes; and
- 212,529 signatures for veto referendums.
Signatures for initiated constitutional amendments that proponents intend for the election on November 3, 2020, needed to be filed by July 6, 2020. Signatures for initiated state statutes needed to be filed by May 27, 2020. The deadline for veto referendums was 90 days following the final adjournment of the legislative session in which the targeted bill was passed.
Distribution of signatures
- See also: Distribution requirement
In December 2018, the state legislature passed HB 6595, which Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed. The law was designed to require signature petition drives to meet a distribution requirement to qualify for the 2020 election ballot or the ballots in any later years. The state was blocked from enforcing the distribution requirement, however, by an attorney general opinion issued in May 2019.
HB 6595 was written to require that no more than 15 percent of required signatures come from a given congressional district, which had the effect of requiring signatures to come from at least seven of Michigan's 14 congressional districts. HB 6595 also had other provisions related to the initiative process.
On January 22, 2019, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) asked Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) for a formal opinion on whether HB 6596 violated the Michigan Constitution's initiative and referendum provisions. On May 22, 2019, Nessel released an opinion stating that certain provisions of HB 6595, including the distribution requirement, were unconstitutional. The opinion was binding on state officials unless overturned by a court ruling. In response to Nessel's opinion, Rep. Jim Lower (R), who sponsored HB 6595, said, “I don’t think anybody’s surprised. I disagree with the conclusions she has come to, and I think it will be litigated.”[1][2]
In June 2019, lawsuits were filed against Nessel's formal opinion. The Republican-controlled state House and Senate filed litigation against Nessel.[3][4] On September 27, 2019, Judge Cynthia Stephens of the Michigan Court of Claims ruled in favor of Attorney General Nessel, deciding that the distribution requirement was unconstitutional. Plaintiffs appealed the ruling to the Michigan Court of Appeals.[5]
On January 27, 2020, the Michigan Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 ruling, decided that the state constitution's signature requirements for citizen-initiated ballot measures are self-executing. The Michigan State Legislature, according to the court, cannot "impose additional obligations on a self-executing constitutional provision." The Court of Appeals ruled that the distribution requirement was an "unreasonable restraint on the constitutional right of the people to initiate laws."[6] The House and Senate appealed the decision to the Michigan Supreme Court, which vacated the case and lower court's ruling on December 29, 2020. The majority's opinion stated that plaintiff campaigns could not "present legal controversy rather than a hypothetical or anticipated one."[7]
The ruling was appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court. In December 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court vacated the lower court ruling, and sent the case back to the court of appeals without ruling on it, saying that plaintiffs did not have standing and that the case should be dismissed.[8]
The Office of the Michigan Secretary of State said the dismissal of the consolidated case meant that Attorney General Nessel's opinion remains in effect.[9]
On January 24, 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the distribution requirement was unconstitutional. Justice Megan Cavanagh said, "It would run directly contrary to the clear intention that nothing more than a minimum number of signatures from the statewide population is necessary to propose changes to Michigan’s laws." The court also overturned a requirement that paid signature gatherers register with the state but said requiring paid circulators to identify that they are paid on their petitions forms is constitutional.[10]
Legislature
The Michigan State Legislature can refer statewide ballot measures, in the form of constitutional amendments and state statutes, to the ballot.
Michigan is one of 16 states that require a two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 74 votes in the Michigan House of Representatives and 26 votes in the Michigan Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Statutes, including bond issues, require a simple majority vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session and the governor's signature to appear on the ballot. The Michigan Constitution requires that state bonds in amounts that exceed 15 percent of undedicated revenues be referred to the ballot for voter approval.
Referral of 2020 ballot measures
The following table illustrates the vote requirements for the legislative referrals certified for the ballot, the votes that the referrals received, and how Democrats and Republicans voted on the referrals in each legislative chamber:
| Michigan Proposal 2, Search Warrant for Electronic Data Amendment | Democrats | Republicans | |||
| Senate: | Required: 26 | Yes votes: 38 (100.00%) | No votes: 0 (0.00%) | Yes: 16; No: 0 | Yes: 22; No: 0 |
| House: | Required: 73 | Yes votes: 106 (97.25%) | No votes: 0 (0.00%) | Yes: N/A; No: N/A | Yes: N/A; No: N/A |
| Michigan Proposal 1, Use of State and Local Park Funds Amendment | Democrats | Republicans | |||
| Senate: | Required: 26 | Yes votes: 37 (97.37%) | No votes: 0 (0.00%) | Yes: 10; No: 0 | Yes: 27; No: 0 |
| House: | Required: 74 | Yes votes: 107 (97.27%) | No votes: 0 (0.00%) | Yes: 44; No: 0 | Yes: 63; No: 0 |
Historical facts
- See also: List of Michigan ballot measures
Between 1995 and 2018, the following occurred:
- Elections featured 41 ballot measures.
- An average of three measures appeared on statewide general election ballots in Michigan.
- An average of two citizen-initiated measures appeared on statewide general election ballots in Michigan.
- Voters approved 51 percent (21 of 41) and rejected 49 percent (20 of 41) of the ballot measures.
- Voters approved 31 percent (8 of 26) and rejected 69 percent (18 of 26) of the citizen-initiated measures.
| Ballot measures in Michigan, 1995-2018 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Total number | Approved | Percent approved | Defeated | Percent defeated | Even-year average | Even-year median | Even-year minimum | Even-year maximum | |
| All measures | 41 | 21 | 51.22% | 20 | 48.78% | 3.33 | 3.00 | 0 | 6 | |
| Citizen initiatives | 26 | 8 | 30.77% | 18 | 69.23% | 2.17 | 2.00 | 0 | 6 | |
| Legislative amendments | 9 | 8 | 88.89% | 1 | 11.11% | 0.67 | 0.00 | 0 | 2 | |
Local ballot measures
In 2020, Ballotpedia covered local measures that appeared on the ballot for voters within the top 100 largest cities in the U.S. and a selection of notable police-related and election-related measures outside of the top 100 largest cities. Ballotpedia also covered all local measures in California and all statewide ballot measures. Click here to see the scope of Ballotpedia local ballot measure coverage by year.
Click here for more information about local ballot measures on the November 2020 ballot in Michigan.
Not on the ballot
| Type | Title | Subject | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CICA | Lobbying Limits and Disclosure Initiative | Lobbying | Creates disclosure requirements for lobbying and limits on lobbying in state constitution | 
|
| CICA | Graduated Income Tax Initiative | Taxes | Requires a graduated income tax |
|
| IndISS | "Dismemberment Abortion Ban Act" Initiative | Abortion | Bans dismemberment, also known as dilation and extraction, abortion |
|
| IndISS | Fetal Heartbeat Abortion Ban Initiative | Abortion | Bans abortion when a fetal heartbeat is present |
|
| IndISS | LGBTQ Nondiscrimination in State Civil Rights Law Initiative | LGBT | Defines sex in state nondiscrimination statute as including gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity or express | 
|
See also
- 2020 ballot measures
- List of Michigan ballot measures
- Laws governing the initiative process in Michigan
- Signature requirements for ballot measures in Michigan
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- ↑ U.S. News, "Benson Questions GOP Law Making It Harder for Ballot Drives," January 22, 2019
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Michigan AG: Lame-duck ballot drive law is unconstitutional," May 22, 2019
- ↑ Michigan Radio, "Lawmakers file lawsuit challenging Nessel opinion on ballot petition law," June 5, 2019
- ↑ UpNorthLive, "Board of Canvassers: Signature gatherers beware, rules could change for petition drives," June 11, 2019
- ↑ MLive, "Judge removes ‘unconstitutional’ ballot petition rules passed in lame-duck," September 27, 2019
- ↑ Michigan Court of Appeals, "Senate and House of Representatives v. Secretary of State," January 27, 2020
- ↑ MLive, "Michigan legislature appealing court decision to strike down ballot petition law changes," February 10, 2020
- ↑ Michigan Radio, "State Supreme Court sends case over ballot initiative law to lower court for dismissal," December 30, 2020
- ↑ Michigan Secretary of State, "Sponsoring a Statewide Initiative, Referendum or Constitutional Amendment Petition," March 2021
- ↑ Detroit CBS, "Michigan Supreme Court Strikes Law To Make Petition Drives Harder," January 24, 2022
