The Michigan appeals court on Friday again struck down major changes to the state’s ballot drive law, including a limit on how many voter signatures can come from any one region.
The ruling was the latest in a lengthy legal fight that began after Republican lawmakers and then-Gov. Rick Snyder enacted the lame-duck law in late 2018. It made it harder to mount ballot initiatives. Major parts have never taken effect because of lawsuits.
The court voted 3-0 to negate a 15% cap on signatures that can be used from any one of Michigan’s congressional districts and nullified a requirement that paid circulators file an affidavit with the secretary of state.
The appellate judges also invalidated a requirement that each petition indicate whether a circulator is paid or a volunteer.
A different panel declared portions of the law unconstitutional in 2020, but the Michigan Supreme Court later declared the case moot because one of the plaintiffs dropped a ballot drive due to the coronavirus pandemic.
To make the ballot in 2022, groups proposing a constitutional amendment must submit 425,000 valid signatures. The threshold is 340,000 for an initiative and 212,000 for a referendum.
