House Passes Changes to Petition Requirements

Liz Gullett

Dec 14, 2018

This week, legislation introduced by Representative Jim Lower (R-Cedar Lake) making changes to the state’s ballot petition process was passed by the House. The plan makes changes to the process of collecting signatures to get an item placed on the ballot. The legislation, as passed by the House:

Requires not more than 15% of certified signatures come from one congressional district
Requires initiative campaigns to provide a short summary at the top of their petitions
Clarifies that if a petition circulator deceives people or provides fraudulent information, the signatures they collect must be invalidated

Additionally, a three-bill package introduced by Representative Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) making additional reforms was passed by the House. The legislation would:

Prohibit circulators from misrepresenting the contents of a proposed ballot question or recall petition
Prohibit circulators from misrepresenting whether they are a paid or volunteer signature gatherer
Require petition circulators to wear identification badges
Ban organizations from employing someone as a petition signature gatherer if they have been convicted of an election crime
Give voters an option to remove their name and signature from a ballot question or recall petition

The bills will be referred to the Senate for consideration.

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