Informing Democracy Calls Out Attempts to Undermine Election Administration by Republican Lawmakers in Michigan

Today, GOP lawmakers in Michigan filed a lawsuit that would undermine voting rights for Michiganders and potentially increase partisanship in the election certification process. In response, Informing Democracy Legal Counsel Sonia Weil shared the following statement:

“The lawsuit is an affront to the democratic process, and the courts should reject it as such.

“It’s unacceptable that a handful of lawmakers are attempting to undo what voters have repeatedly made clear they want—strong measures that expand access to the ballot and protect how elections are run from politics. Michiganders can see this for what it is: an attempt to control who votes and how elections are decided for partisan gain.”

Additional Background

Eleven Michigan Republican lawmakers filed a lawsuit to roll back the two proposals—Proposal 3 of 2018 and Proposal 2 of 2022—which were both passed with the support of over 60% of Michigan voters. The lawmakers argue that because the Elections Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 4) provides that state legislatures regulate the times, places, and manner of holding federal elections, the citizen-led ballot initiatives are unconstitutional. The suit seeks not only to reverse the proposals but to also prohibit Michigan voters from using ballot initiatives to vote on election law in the future, limiting voters' ability to access direct democracy.

In filing this lawsuit, lawmakers are attempting to undo guardrails put in place by Proposal 2, which insulate the election certification and vote counting process from political interference, including by clarifying the role of canvassing boards in certifying election results and noting that only the Board of State Canvassers can certify elections for statewide and federal office. The proposal also added unequivocal language in the Michigan Constitution stating that “the outcome of every election in this state shall be determined solely by the vote of electors casting ballots in the election.”

Proposal 2 also clarifies procedures for election audits in the state constitution, stating that only election officials can conduct election audits, and such audits must be done in public with publicly disclosed funds.

Additionally, Proposal 2 makes permanent several important policies that increase access to voting—like expanded early voting and ballot drop boxes. Likewise, Proposal 3 includes a number of provisions that would make voting more accessible, including implementing automatic voter registration and allowing “no-excuse” absentee voting.