LANSING, Mich. — Every Michigan voter who fills out a ballot by Nov. 3 will find two statewide questions under the races for governor and U.S. Senate: one on whether to start over on the state constitution, and one on who may give money to the officials who regulate them.
Proposal 1 is not the product of a petition drive. The constitution itself forces the convention question onto the ballot every 16 years, and the last time voters saw it was 2010. They also turned it down in 1978 and 1994.
A yes vote would set off a fast chain of events in 2027. According to the state Senate Fiscal Agency, delegates would likely be picked in a partisan primary in May and a general election in August, one for each of the 38 Senate and 110 House districts, for 148 in all. They would meet in Lansing on Oct. 5, 2027, set their own rules and budget, and could rewrite any part of the document. Whatever they produce would go back to voters within 90 days after the convention ends.
The current constitution dates to a convention that opened in October 1961 and was ratified in April 1963, making it the longest-lasting charter in state history. Backers of a new convention argue it could break gridlock on issues such as property taxes; critics warn that well-funded interests could steer the outcome.
Proposal 2 is a citizen-initiated law that amends the Michigan Campaign Finance Act. It would bar regulated electric and gas utilities, companies holding more than $250,000 a year in government contracts, and people and groups with substantial ties to them from giving, directly or indirectly, to candidates and officeholders whose decisions affect them.
The measure also reaches political advertising. Ads that clearly identify a candidate or ballot question would fall under donor disclosure rules even if they never urge a yes or no vote, and paid-for-by disclosure would explicitly cover online political ads.
Because Proposal 2 is a statute rather than a constitutional amendment, a simple majority enacts it. Supporters pitch it as a stop to pay-to-play politics, while opponents call it a limit on free speech, and a court challenge is expected if it passes.
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Filed under: Plymouth MI Politics News
