The Michigan Supreme Court has struck down major parts of a law that placed additional restrictions on petition campaigns to initiate laws or amend the state constitution.
The law said no more than 15 percent of signatures for a statewide petition drive could come from any one congressional district. The court also struck down a provision that would require paid circulators to file an affidavit with the state. Lonnie Scott with Progress Michigan said all that violated free speech rights by making it too hard to get a question on the ballot.
“This gets rid of some of what we thought were majorly unconstitutional rules.”
The law was signed in 2018 by then-Governor Rick Snyder after petition drives successfully amended the state constitution to make it easier to vote absentee and to create a non-partisan redistricting commission.