Michigan Senate may vote on restricting initiative process as soon as Tuesday; act now
On Wednesday, April 16, the Senate Committee on Campaign and Election Oversight passed a bill that would restrict the initiative signature-gathering process. The full Senate could take up the bill as soon as Tuesday, so there's no time to lose: Please ask your legislators to oppose this unconstitutional bill.
The bill, SJR K, proposes a state constitutional amendment to require signature gatherers to collect at least 100 valid signatures from 42 of Michigan's counties. It would also let the legislature make that threshold even higher. SJR K would also require an initiative to include the signature of at least one registered voter from each of Michigan's 83 counties. It would violate equal protection and dramatically increase the cost and energy needed to qualify a statewide ballot. It would also give the voters of any single county — including one with only about 2,000 voters — veto power over the rest of the entire state.
A federal appellate court found that a similar requirement in Nevada violated equal protection by giving voters in sparsely populated counties more of a voice than voters in densely populated counties. In addition to being unconstitutional, SJR K could cost Michigan voters tens of thousands of dollars, since Nevada had to pay the attorneys' fees who litigated against that state's unconstitutional signature distribution requirement.
Why should you care?
You might wonder what this has to do with marijuana policy reform. If it wasn't for the initiative process, Michigan voters wouldn't be able to decide whether to allow the medical use of marijuana this November.
In a span of less than six months, more than half a million Michiganders signed a petition to put the medical marijuana initiative on the ballot in November. Dozens of people volunteered, and even quit their jobs, to give voters a chance to protect patients.
A signature from someone in a sparsely populated county shouldn't count any more a signature from Wayne County. Under SJR K, even if half the state's voters signed a petition, it would not qualify if petitioners couldn't find a person from a remote 2,200-person county who was willing to sign it. It's wrong to give a tiny portion of the state's population veto power and impose enormous costs on petitioners.
So, what are you waiting for?
Stand up for the initiative process, which is often the key to sane marijuana policies. Then, please pass this on to your friends, families, and listservs. If you aren't yet signed up for MPP's e-mail alerts, please do so here. Thank you for your support. | 
