A Michigan ballot campaign to tax people more if they make over half a million dollars a year faced a setback Thursday at a state elections board meeting.
The proposed constitutional amendment from the group Invest in MI Kids would set an extra 5% tax on annual income over $500,000 for single filers and $1,000,000 for joint filers. It would deposit that extra money into a state account meant to fund schools.
The campaign hoped the Board of State Canvassers would certify that everything with its petition was in order Thursday. It’s an optional step often taken to help safeguard against possible lawsuits down the road that could claim the measure was misleading.
Instead, the board reversed course, rescinding summary language it had previously approved.
Molly Sweeney is with the Invest in MI Kids campaign. She said she expects the form approval to easily make it through the Board of State Canvassers on the next try.
“Everything at the Board of Canvassers meeting was done well and people had time to publicly comment, there’s nothing that’s changing about our summary and our submission. So we’re hoping that it’s the same exact summary, that they're given a thumbs up, that, like, it was just a procedural error and that we’re ready to just move forward,” Sweeney said.
The board’s reasoning for reneging on its summary language approval for the initiative had to do with the procedural timeline. During Thursday’s meeting, opponents of the measure successfully argued the final version of the ballot proposal hadn’t been posted online long enough for a public comment period.
The decision reset the timeline, meaning the measure would need to be re-posted online with suggested summary language before it can be re-approved. A date for the next consideration hasn’t yet been announced.
Still, Sweeney stayed optimistic after the board’s decision, even if it took away some warm months that are typically good for gathering signatures.
“I mean, you know, we’re all Michiganders. So, I think our folks are ready to put on some coats, get out there every single holiday, celebration, Thanksgiving, whatever happens over the New Year, you’ll Invest in MI Kids petitioners at every party, so get ready,” Sweeney told reporters.
Thursday’s board meeting also saw a proposed ballot measure to ensure only American citizens are voting move closer to gathering signatures. The proposed constitutional amendment is from Americans for Citizen Voting.
Michigan law already bans non-citizens from voting. And cases of that happening have been extremely rare. Falsely claiming to be a citizen in order to vote is a felony.
But some incidents from the last general election have led three separate constitutional amendment proposals to go before the board this year.
Americans for Citizen Voting is behind two of them. Campaign Chairman Paul Jacob said he hopes to find common ground and only bring one proposal before voters.
“There’s no fight here. There’s people that only want to see only citizens voting, making sure that our elections are secure. And we’re going to be working together,” Jacob said.
The measure would require residents to show documentation proving citizenship, rather than checking a box verifying eligibility. It would also have the Secretary of State remove suspected non-citizens from the voter rolls, giving them a 45-day period to rebut that action.
Jacob said his proposal is more clear about the secretary of state’s duties than the counterpart from another group.
“It doesn’t leave it up to the Legislature, to later pass things that will make the rules. We put the rules right in it. We have enforcement,” Jacob said.
Jacob said he hopes to start signature collection within a few weeks.
