Michigan ballot proposals come in three forms under Article II, Section 9 of the state constitution: constitutional amendments, statutory initiatives, and referendums. Each starts with a petition, each requires signatures equal to a set percentage of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, and each follows its own path from filing to the ballot. The process is open to any citizen group, but the drafting, signature-gathering, and verification requirements are strict, and mistakes at any stage can invalidate an entire petition drive.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article II 9
The Three Types of Proposals
The type of proposal determines the signature threshold, the deadline, and what happens after the petition qualifies.
Constitutional Amendments
A constitutional amendment changes the state constitution itself. Proponents must collect signatures equal to at least 10 percent of the total votes cast for governor in the last gubernatorial election and file the petition with the Secretary of State at least 120 days before the election.2Michigan Legislature. Citizens Protecting Michigans Constitution v Secretary of State Once the petition is verified, the amendment goes straight to the ballot. A simple majority passes it, and it takes effect 10 days after the vote is officially certified.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article II 9
Statutory Initiatives
A statutory initiative proposes a new law or a change to an existing one, bypassing the normal legislative process. The signature threshold is 8 percent of votes cast for governor in the last election.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article II 9
Once verified, the petition goes to the legislature, which has 40 session days to either enact it as written or reject it.3Michigan Legislature. Initiatives Session days exclude recesses, so the calendar time is typically longer than 40 days. If the legislature passes the measure, it becomes law. If it rejects the proposal, it appears on the next general election ballot. The legislature can also reject the initiative and put its own alternative on the ballot alongside it, letting voters choose between the two.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article II 9
Referendums
A referendum lets voters approve or reject a law the legislature has already passed. Opponents must gather signatures equal to at least 5 percent of votes cast for governor in the last election and file within 90 days after the legislative session that enacted the law adjourns.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article II 9 If the petition qualifies, the law is suspended immediately and stays suspended until the next general election. Voter approval puts it into effect 10 days after certification; rejection kills it.4Michigan Legislature. HOW AN ISSUE BECOMES A BALLOT PROPOSAL – Michigan Manual 2023-2024
One boundary matters: the referendum power does not reach laws that appropriate money for state institutions or cover deficiencies in state funds.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article II 9 Legislators have at times attached appropriations to bills specifically to shield them from voter challenge.
How the Petition Process Runs
All three proposal types follow the same general sequence: draft, optionally pre-clear the summary, circulate, file, and survive the canvass.
Drafting includes the full text of the measure and a summary of its purpose. Proponents can submit the summary to the Board of State Canvassers for pre-approval before collecting any signatures. That step is optional, but if the Board approves the summary, opponents cannot later challenge the petition on the grounds that the summary was misleading or deceptive.5Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 168.482b – Michigan Election Law The Board has 30 days to act on a submitted summary.
After the petition is finalized, circulators collect signatures from registered voters. Completed petitions are filed with the Secretary of State, and the Board of State Canvassers then canvasses them against the qualified voter file to confirm registrations and check signatures. If a signer was not registered to vote on the date they signed, the signature is presumed invalid. The Board can hold hearings, issue subpoenas, and investigate complaints, and it must finish its canvass at least two months before the election.6Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 168.476 – Michigan Election Law
Signature Numbers and 2026 Deadlines
The signature count for every proposal type is calculated from the total votes cast for all gubernatorial candidates in the most recent election that included a governor’s race. For anything targeting the November 2026 ballot, the 2022 election sets the base.
- Constitutional amendment: 10 percent of total votes cast for governor
- Statutory initiative: 8 percent of total votes cast for governor
- Referendum: 5 percent of total votes cast for governor
Filing deadlines for the November 2026 general election are staggered. Statutory initiative petitions are due by May 27, 2026, and constitutional amendment petitions by July 6, 2026.7State of Michigan. Election Calendar of Dates The earlier initiative deadline builds in the 40 session days the legislature has to act. Referendum deadlines run on their own clock, tied to the 90-day window after the legislative session adjourns.
Circulator and Petition Sheet Rules
Michigan puts hard requirements on the people who carry petitions. Every circulator must be at least 18 and a United States citizen. Non-resident circulators must check a designated line on the Certificate of Circulator acknowledging their non-resident status and agreeing to Michigan court jurisdiction; if they don’t, every signature on that sheet is invalid.8Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 168.544c – Michigan Election Law Circulators must also disclose whether they are paid or volunteers. Any failure to comply with a circulator requirement voids all signatures that circulator collected on that sheet.9Michigan Legislature. Initiative Petition Amendment to the Constitution Proposal 22-2
The sheets themselves have to be 8½ by 14 inches in landscape layout, with the heading, warning statements, circulator certificate, and signer entries all visible and undamaged. Font sizes are prescribed to the point: warnings to signers in 12-point boldface above the signature lines, circulator certificate in 8-point in the lower-left corner. A sheet with damaged or missing mandatory elements is thrown out.
Michigan used to require that no more than 15 percent of signatures come from any one congressional district, but the Michigan Supreme Court struck that geographic distribution rule down in 2022. There is currently no geographic distribution requirement for ballot proposal petitions.10Michigan Legislature. MCL – Section 168.471 – Michigan Election Law
What Happens After Voters Approve an Initiative
A law enacted by voters through the initiative process cannot be amended or repealed unless voters approve the change or three-fourths of the members in each chamber of the legislature vote to do so.1Michigan Legislature. Constitution of Michigan of 1963 – Article II 9 That supermajority requirement makes voter-approved initiatives substantially harder to undo than ordinary legislation.
For years, the legislature used a workaround known as adopt-and-amend: adopt an initiative during its 40-session-day window to keep it off the ballot, then rewrite it by simple majority in the same session because it had technically been enacted by the legislature rather than the voters. That is how the legislature handled both a 2018 minimum wage initiative and a 2018 paid sick leave initiative.
In July 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court ended the practice in Mothering Justice v. Attorney General, ruling that the legislature cannot sidestep the initiative process by adopting a petition and then immediately amending it in ways that undermine the original measure.11Michigan Department of Attorney General. AG Nessel on Michigan Supreme Court Rejecting Legislatures Adopt-and-Amend Tactic The ruling restored the original versions of both 2018 laws.
Campaign Finance Registration
Any group organizing a ballot proposal campaign has to form a ballot question committee and register it with the state. Under the Michigan Campaign Finance Act, the committee must file a statement of organization within 10 days of forming and identify the substance of each ballot question it supports or opposes. Late registration triggers a $10-per-business-day penalty capped at $300, and failing to register for more than 30 days is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000.12Michigan Legislature. Enrolled House Bill No 4596 – Michigan Campaign Finance Act All contributions received and expenditures made must be reported to the Secretary of State.
Where Legal Challenges Come In
Ballot proposals draw legal challenges at almost every stage. Constitutional amendment proposals can be attacked on the ground that they go beyond an “amendment” and amount to a “general revision” of the constitution, the line the Michigan Supreme Court drew in Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Constitution v. Secretary of State.13Justia Case Law. Citizens Protecting Michigans Constitution v Secretary of State Signature verification is another regular flashpoint, with opponents pushing to disqualify signatures until the total falls below the threshold, as in Unlock Michigan v. Board of State Canvassers.14Michigan Courts. MSC 162949 Unlock Michigan v Board of State Canvassers Order Even after a measure passes, its constitutionality or scope can be litigated for years, as ongoing Headlee Amendment enforcement actions show.15Justia. Taxpayers for Michigan Constitutional Govt v Michigan Legal counsel is a practical necessity from the moment a petition is drafted.