A signature campaign to add protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has gone digital. That decision came after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down face-to-face signature gathering.
Campaign attorney Steve Liedel says this alternative is legal. It’s not barred by law. Voters may right now print and sign their name to a paper petition and mail it in. And Liedel says independently verified electronic signatures are already a common way to handle transactions and legal agreements.
“From a constitutional perspective, there needs to be a mechanism for people to exercise that legal right, and the use of electronic signatures is the best way for them to do so.”
This would be the first time a Michigan petition campaign tries to file e-signatures. The campaign needs to collect roughly 340 thousand valid signatures by May 27th to get on the November ballot.