Honigman Capitol Report

Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Term Limits

On Wednesday, the Michigan Supreme Court denied relief to Plaintiffs challenging the Term Limits amendment, ensuring that the Proposal will appear on the 2022 general election ballot. Plaintiffs claimed that the proposal did not comply with the requirement that a proposal be limited to one purpose or subject and that it should have been two separate proposals, one to address term limits and one to install financial disclosure. The court disagreed and stated that the text of the Constitution does not establish a single-purpose test.

Court of Claims Final Ruling on 1931 Abortion Ban

Additionally on Wednesday of this week, Court of Claims Chief Judge Elizabeth Gleicher ruled that the state’s 1931 law banning abortion is unconstitutional, opining that her ruling binds county prosecutors as agents of the Attorney General department. This final ruling reaffirms the previous preliminary injunction in May. While the Court of Appeals ruled that the May preliminary injunction could not ban county prosecutors who were not named in the case, Gleicher opined that this final ruling applies to all county prosecutors across the state. Gleicher ultimately ruled enforcement of the abortion ban would “endanger the health and lives of women seeking to exercise their constitutional right to abortion.”

Michigan Supreme Court Orders Certification of Abortion Ballot Proposal

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled yesterday in a 5-2 decision ordering the Board of State Canvassers to certify the Reproductive Freedom for All constitutional amendment, allowing the proposal to appear on the November ballot. The Board of State Canvassers had deadlocked along party lines on whether to place the constitutional amendment on the ballot. While signature counts were enough to certify, two members of the Board voted against placing the measure on the ballot after a challenge regarding lack of spacing between words. The Supreme Court specifically addressed the board’s duty regarding petitions, opining that it is “limited to determining the sufficiency of a petition’s form and content and whether there are sufficient signatures to warrant certification.”

Michigan Supreme Court Orders Certification of Voting Rights Amendment

The Michigan Supreme Court also ruled in a 5-2 decision yesterday ordering the Board of State Canvassers to certify the ballot language for an amendment to expand voting rights in the Michigan Constitution. The challenge to the language stated that all sections of the Constitution that would be “abrogated” if passed were not detailed in the petition. The court opined that the proposed amendments “would not abrogate any of the constitutional provisions identified by the challenger” and that the Board “has a clear legal duty to certify the petition.”

Whitmer up 13 Points According the Recent Polling

In a recent polling commissioned by WDIV-TV and The Detroit News, incumbent Democrat Gretchen Whitmer leads at 48%, while Republican Challenger Tudor Dixon is at 35% with third party candidates at 4% and undecided voters at 13%. Top concerns from voters polled include abortion, inflation and education.