The Headlines
We have summary approval, we have a form approval, and as of 12:45pm today, we have petitions. Money Out of Politics has officially begun gathering signatures in Michigan!
Voters Not Politicians is working in coalition with a number of Michigan activist organizations, but this is very much still a grassroots campaign. Today, a group of VNP volunteer leaders met with coalition partners to pick up petitions and distribute them statewide. This dedicated team of democracy champions is a well-oiled machine. As everyone counted boxes and divvyed up clipboard resources, there was chatter about a few of the big events that VNP petition circulators will attend this weekend: Bridge Walk, the Detroit Labor Day parade – and so many more.
We also received a report of the presence of the anti-voter Americans for Citizen Voting petition at a mid-Michigan fair. It is sobering to know that while we are fighting to improve the lives of Michiganders by directly addressing corruption in state government, national special interest groups are moving forward with their plan to hamstring voters and clerks by requiring documentary proof of citizenship – a policy that will inject chaos into Michigan elections and trap would-be voters in miles of red tape.
The Details
- Some backstory behind the Board of State Canvassers process: all initiatives, referendums, and constitutional amendment petitions are required to submit their language to the Secretary of State prior to circulating the petition. There is also an optional step to get “approval of the content of the petition summary” and “approval as to form” from the Board of State Canvassers prior to circulation.
- Getting these approvals in advance lowers the chance for successful challenges to the petition summary or signatures later in the process.
- The Board’s role in this process is purely administrative, and their decisions on whether to approve petition summaries or forms should be based entirely on whether these meet the requirements of the law, and not their assessment of the policy content.
- After a 4 hour discussion and a unanimous 4-0 vote, the Board approved the following petition summary:
- “Initiation of legislation to: prohibit electric and gas utilities, contractors with over $250,000 annually in government contracts, and people and organizations with substantial connections to these utilities/contractors from making direct or indirect campaign contributions to those who run for or hold offices that impact them; expand campaign finance laws and restrictions that regulate spending on political communications, including laws that require disclosing donor information, to apply to communications clearly identifying candidates or ballot questions, even if they do not expressly advocate voting for/against them; expressly apply the law requiring disclosure of who paid for political communications to internet political communications. (99 words)”
- For those who couldn’t be there in person, here’s what it sounded like in the room when the Board finally voted.
- Today, coalition staff and volunteers picked up petitions from the printer and began disbursing them across the state, marking our official start of petition circulation for Mop Up Michigan.
- These petitions will go directly to volunteer teams to get out in the field this Labor Day weekend, and will also go to volunteer supply hubs across the state.
- Supply hub volunteers have always been crucial to VNP’s successful signature collection campaigns, and I cannot sing their praises enough! A few square feet in someone’s garage makes a huge difference in a grassroots campaign, so if you’re a supporter of money out of politics who has some spare space at home let us know.
- This week Voters Not Politicians also launched a weekly circulator check-in meeting to answer questions on policy, circulating, and logistics, and to hear feedback from volunteers on how things are going in the field. Regular open communication with volunteers is a hallmark of both a successful grassroots campaign and Voters Not Politicians.
- VNP volunteers have been eagerly waiting for us to officially start circulating, so you can expect to see Mop Up Michigan circulators out in your area sooner rather than later. And because it will take the collective work of thousands of everyday Michiganders to get the signatures we need to put money out of politics on the ballot, every voter is encouraged to pick up a clipboard and join us in this fight!
What’s Next
Mop Up Michigan now has 180 days to gather over 356,958 valid signatures to put this petition on the November 2026 ballot. VNP volunteers are rolling up their sleeves and getting to work. As we get petitions into the hands of thousands of people, we will also continue to educate the public about the hazards of the documentary-proof-of-citizenship petition also in the field.