History of Initiative & Referendum in Michigan

This article was significantly based on an article published by the Initiative & Referendum Institute and is used with their permission. Some portions of this article may have been adapted from Wikipedia, and information on the page may need to be updated.

In Michigan, citizens can amend their constitution or create a new state statute through the initiative process. Between 1963 (when the Michigan Constitution enabling citizen initiative went into effect) and 2022, 35 proposed amendments to the state's constitution appeared on the ballot through the initiative process. Michigan voters approved 14 of those 35 proposed amendments. In that same time, 14 initiatives to change or create state statutes appeared on the Michigan ballot through citizen initiative. Eight of those initiatives passed. Additionally, some proposed citizen initiatives were passed into law by the Michigan legislature without going to the ballot, but after sufficient signatures were collected to place the matter before the legislature. Ten legislative referendums were placed on the Michigan ballot through the signature-collection process between 1963 and 2022. In Michigan, successful referendum petitions result in a question asking voters if they wish to approve the targeted bill. Thus, referendum petitioners wish voters to vote "no" on such questions in order to overturn the targeted laws. Of the ten referendum questions, voters approved one and rejected nine.

How Michigan gained the initiative and referendum process

An initiative and referendum amendment passed at the state constitutional convention of 1907. The voters ratified it in 1908, but restrictions within the amendment made citizens unable to place a single initiative on the ballot.

Michigan initiative and referendum advocates resumed lobbying the legislature for a better amendment process and gained the support of Governor Chase S. Osborn, a Progressive elected in 1910. The legislature rejected Osborn's attempts. Under the new provisions, it took 39,000 signatures to put a constitutional amendment initiative on the 1914 ballot.

Early initiatives

The first two initiatives that won voter approval were on the ballot in 1932: a measure to establish a liquor control commission passed overwhelmingly, and an amendment to limit property taxes won 51.1 percent of the vote.

In 1938, voters passed an amendment specifying that gas and vehicle weight tax money must be used for roads and streets; the following year, in an April special election, they approved a system for the nonpartisan election of judges. In 1946, voters enacted an initiative to ensure that part of the state's sales tax revenues were returned to the municipalities; in 1948, they modified the property tax limitation.

Initiatives between 1963 and 2000

The initiative for which Michigan is most famous is the "Bottle Bill," approved by a two to one margin in 1976, which put a 10-cent deposit on bottles and cans.

In 1998, the voters rejected a physician-assisted suicide initiative and in 2000 defeated a school voucher initiative that was sponsored by Dick DeVos, son of Amway co-founder Richard DeVos Sr.

External links

Suggest a link

• 1980-2004 Ballot Question Statistics, an 84-page report primarily focusing on campaign expenditures, prepared by the Michigan Secretary of State.
• History of Michigan I&R prepared by the Michigan Secretary of State.
• Citizens Research Council of Michigan, a respected nonpartisan organization, analysis of Michigan ballot measures