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Michigan Ballot Proposal B, Term Limits for Congressional, State Executive, and State Legislative Offices Initiative (1992)
| Michigan Ballot Proposal B | |
|---|---|
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| Election date |
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| Topic Congressional term limits and Executive official term limits |
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| Status |
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| Type Initiated constitutional amendment |
Origin |
Michigan Ballot Proposal B was on the ballot as an initiated constitutional amendment in Michigan on November 3, 1992. It was approved.
A “yes” vote supported this ballot initiative to enact term limits, including:
|
A “no” vote opposed this ballot initiative to enact term limits for congressional, state executive, and state legislative officials. |
Aftermath
U.S. Term Limits, Inc. vs. Thornton (1995)
In U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that states cannot impose qualifications, including term limits, for prospective members of Congress that are stricter than those specified in the U.S. Constitution. The ruling was issued on May 22, 1995. Therefore, the ruling had the effect of invalidating Proposal B's provisions limiting the number of terms for members of the state's congressional delegation.[1]
Kahn, et al. v. Benson
| Lawsuit overview | |
| Issue: Does Proposal B's term limits on state legislators violate the U.S. Constitution's freedom of association and/or the Michigan Constitution's single-subject rule and ballot language requirements? | |
| Court: United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan and U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals | |
| Ruling: The U.S. District Court for Western Michigan and the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the plaintiffs, holding that term limits, under Proposal B, were constitutional. | |
| Plaintiff(s): Roger Kahn, Paul Opsommer, Joseph Haveman, David E. Nathan, Scott Dianda, Clark Harder, Mary Valentine, and Douglas Spade | Defendant(s): Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson |
Source: United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan
On November 20, 2019, eight former state legislators filed a legal complaint in the U.S. District Court for Western Michigan to invalidate Proposal B's term limits on state legislators as a violation of their freedom of association (First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution). The former state legislatures also contend that Proposal B violated the state's single-subject rule and that Proposal B had ballot language that created a prejudice in favor of the amendment. Proposal B was on the ballot with the title Michigan State Office Amendment, while, according to plaintiffs, Proposal B addressed state and federal offices. Plaintiffs brought forward the complaint to “vindicate their own rights to appear on the ballot, as well as their right to themselves vote for experienced candidates," according to the document.[2]
Patrick L. Anderson, the principal author of Proposal B, responded to the litigation, saying, "It is disgraceful for people who took an oath to uphold the Michigan constitution, to now go before a federal judge and ask for it to be put aside."[3]
On January 20, 2021, Judge Janet Neff ruled against the plaintiffs, stating, "Plaintiffs have not established, as a matter of law, that the Michigan Constitution’s term limits provision violates either the federal or state Constitutions."[4]
The plaintiffs appealed the ruling to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on April 5, 2021.[5] A three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit unanimously ruled against the plaintiffs. The ruling stated, "More than twenty years ago, the people of Michigan chose a citizen legislature, not a professional one. Now, legislators with years of experience seek to use the federal courts to get around their state’s sovereign choice. But it’s not our place to intervene on their behalf. If they want to change the law, they’ll have to do that at the ballot box."[6]
Election results
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Michigan Ballot Proposal B |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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2,295,904 | 58.73% | ||
| No | 1,613,404 | 41.27% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Ballot Proposal B was as follows:
| “ | BALLOT PROPOSAL B A PROPOSAL TO RESTRICT/LIMIT THE NUMBER OF TIMES A PERSON CAN BE ELECTED TO CONGRESSIONAL, STATE EXECUTIVE AND STATE LEGISLATIVE OFFICES The proposed constitutional amendment would: Restrict the number of times a person could be elected to certain offices as described below: 1) U.S. Senator: two times in any 24-year period. 2) U.S. Representative: three times in any 12-year period. 3) Governor, Lieutentant Governor, Secretary of State or Attorney General: two times per office. 4) State Senator: two times. 5) State Represenattive: three times. Office terms beginning on or after January 1, 1993, would count toward the term restrictions. A person appointed or elected to an office vacany for more than 1/2 of a term would be considered elected once in that office. Should this proposal be adopted? YES NO | ” |
Path to the ballot
An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.
In Michigan, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 10% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election. A simple majority vote is required for voter approval.
See also
External links
- Michigan Department of State, "Initiatives and Referendums Under the Constitution of the State of Michigan of 1963," December 5, 2008
- Central Michigan University, "Clare Sentinel, 27 October 1992,"
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. Supreme Court, "U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton," May 22, 1995
- ↑ United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, "Kahn, et al. v. Benson," November 20, 2019
- ↑ The Detroit News, "Former lawmakers sue to undo Michigan's term limits," November 20, 2019
- ↑ MLive, "Judge upholds Michigan’s ‘shortest and harshest’ term limits for politicians," January 22, 2021
- ↑ The Detroit News, "Former lawmakers appeal case seeking to overturn term limits," April 16, 2021
- ↑ U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, "Kowall et al. v. Benson," November 17, 2021
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