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Petition drives to place abortion, election reform on state ballot could face challenges

By Tim Skubick and David Komer online producer
Published  July 11, 2022 7:00pm EDT
2022 Midterm Elections
FOX 2 Detroit

Challenges on signatures expected for abortion, voter reform ballot initiatives

Michigan voters are one step closer to deciding whether to legalize abortion in the state and whether they want to install more election reforms.

FOX 2 - Michigan voters are one step closer to deciding whether to legalize abortion in the state and whether they want to install more election reforms.  

Petition signatures to place these questions on the statewide ballot were filed today.  Recently when GOP governor candidates James Craig and Perry Johnson turned in their petition signatures to be on the ballot, the election bureau uncovered an unprecedented number of phony signatures.

So when the two most recent petition drives continued their name-gathering process they bent over backward to make sure their issues weren't booted because they did not have enough valid names.

The abortion campaign:

  • Needed: 425,000 Valid Names
  • Signatures collected: 753,700 Names (which would be a state-wide record)
  • Cushion: 328,000 Names

For the voting reform petition to get on the ballot:

  • Election Reform signatures: 669,000 Names
  • Cushion: 244,900 Names

Opponents of each issue are expected to carefully inspect the signatures with hopes of stopping them from getting to the ballots.

"We know that when an issue is as important as reproductive freedom, we are going to face challenges along the way," said Loren Khogali ACLU Michigan.

The election reform ballot proposal would give you nine days to vote before Election Day.

It says it would provide secure drop boxes for your vote, provide safeguard of military votes from overseas, and create a statewide absentee vote tracking system.

"We don't expect any challenges," said Khalilah Spencer, president of Promote the Vote. "We did have a very careful procedure with our signature gathering and we made sure we went through each signature, those that were problematic, we have struck them. So we are very confident that what we turned in are valid signatures."

The Michigan Board of Canvassers will decide whether both groups got enough valid signatures clearing the way for you decide the two questions in November.