Welcome to the second segment in a four part series were MLC answers your campaign finance and election law questions.  In last week’s kick off to the series, the focus was predominately on campaign finance questions.  This week, we’ll start to address some common election law questions.

Q:  When will I know the final field of candidates for the state House races?

A:   The last date for a candidate to file for a House race is April 19, 2016 by 4:00 p.m.  The dust will actually settle on April 22, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. because that is the deadline to withdraw from a state House race. Other key dates you’ll want to keep in mind are August 2^nd because that is the state’s primary election and November 8^th is the general election.

Q:  I have had it with lawmakers and want to put a question on the ballot that will amend the State Constitution.  How many signatures will I need and how expensive is the process?

A:   You should know that in order to have a successful ballot campaign, it will be a very expensive endeavor.  A minimum estimate is $1 million.  Of course, it could be much less based on the popularity of the issue, but it’s better to be prepared so your effort doesn’t stall while you’re still gathering signatures. 

If that number doesn’t scare you, then here are a few more that might.  An approved petition to amend the State Constitution, along with 315,654 valid signatures, needs to be filed with the Board of Canvassers by July 11, 2016.  It’s important to keep in mind that you only have 180 days to collect these signatures.  If you make it past all of these hurdles, then your question will be placed before the voters at the November 8^th General Election.

Q:  I’ve been hearing in the news about how the legislature passed a law that won’t let local units of government communicate to citizens about local ballot questions.  Is that true?  What is going on here?

A: Yes, that is true.  A law was recently created that would prohibit a local unit of government from using public funds to communicate about a ballot question 60 days before that question is put in front of the voters.  The rationale behind the law, as given by its proponents, was to prevent local units of government from using taxpayer dollars to try to promote increasing taxes. However, there is a lot of gray area and controversy around the law – especially in regards to how certain words and concepts are defined.  But, a potential solution is being worked on and the legislature has already begun efforts to amendment it.    At the time of answering this question, the House passed legislation that would remove the full communication prohibition so that the following could be communicated within a 60 day window before an election by the local unit of government:

• The language of a local ballot question,
• The date of an election, or
• Factual and strictly neutral information concerning the direct impact of a local ballot question on a public body or the electorate, except if the communication can reasonably be interpreted as an attempt to influence the outcome of a local ballot question.

The bill that provides these changes is now in the Senate Elections and Government Reform Committee.

Do you have a question that you would like MLC to answer on this blog?  If so, please e-mail it to info (AT) mlcmi (DOT) com and we’ll try to include it in upcoming segments of this Q&A series.

This Q&A series is meant to be educational only.  The information contained in the above article does not constitute legal advice and should not be considered as such.

Michigan Legislative Consultants is a bipartisan lobbying firm based in Lansing, Michigan. Our team of lobbyists and procurement specialists provide a wide range of services for some of the most respected companies in America. For more on MLC, visit www.mlcmi.com or connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.