People organizing petition drives for ballot proposals will have to adhere to a strict 180-day window to gather signatures under a bill that was signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Rick Snyder.
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The other challenge focuses on the title of the proposed law, “Marijuana Legalization”.
Snyder said he signed the legislation because the time limits to gather signatures was appropriate.
But the new laws remove the ability to challenge the exclusion of petition signatures and sets a hard 180-day window to gather signatures. He says numerous signatures turned in were gathered outside the 180-day window for collecting names of registered voters. “We’re going to fight for the rights of every MI voter and make sure we get this on the ballot”.
The MI Legalize filing included an affidavit from Alan Fox of Practical Political Consulting, who worked with the group to verify signatures, purporting that to “rebut” the presumption that the old signatures were stale and void.
Jeffrey Hank, an attorney and executive director for the group, says “The Bureau gave the expected response – but the speed of the decision really creates an advantage for us”.
On Tuesday, the state Bureau of Elections recommended in a report that the Board of State Canvassers – which has the authority to approve the petition for voter consideration – reject the petition because the group, MI Legalize, didn’t submit enough valid signatures before the deadline.
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A separate ballot committee seeking to ban hydraulic fracturing announced last week that it was suing the state, arguing the 180-day signature window violates the Michigan Constitution.
