Voters Not Politicians statement on oral arguments on stricter petition collection requirements

The following can be attributed to Jamie Lyons-Eddy, Campaigns & Programs Director for Voters Not Politicians, following oral arguments today in the lawsuit to overturn strict petition gathering requirements in Public Act 608: 

Our state constitution guarantees Michigan voters the right to participate in direct democracy by collecting petition signatures to place initiatives on the ballot. In 2018, Michiganders used initiatives to end gerrymandering and expand voting rights, stepping up to protect our democracy when our politicians would not. The legislature passed restrictions on this type of civic participation in a lame duck session in reaction to voters coming together to fix fundamental problems in our democracy. This hastily-passed legislation would directly silence voters by limiting their ability to petition their government, and we will continue to fight against these efforts.