The meeting lasted nearly seven hours as Board members reviewed disputed petition signatures one by one and considered arguments from both the campaign supporting the proposal and Promote The Vote Action, which challenged signatures.
At the end of the meeting, the four-member Board split 2-2 on whether to certify the proposal. Without the majority needed for certification, the proposal did not advance to the November ballot.
But this is likely not the end of the process. Americans for Citizen Voting has said it plans to challenge the decision in court, and Michigan law gives the campaign until September 2 to appeal directly to the Michigan Supreme Court.
How did we get here?
Americans for Citizen Voting-Michigan submitted 709,841 petition signatures in support of a proposed constitutional amendment that would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and make other changes to Michigan’s voting and identification rules.
To qualify for the November ballot, the campaign needed at least 446,198 valid signatures.
Michigan uses an approved random-sampling process rather than reviewing every signature individually. For this petition, 1,000 signatures were selected for review. At least 629 of those 1,000 needed to be valid for the sample to show that the petition met the statewide requirement.
Before Monday’s meeting, Michigan’s nonpartisan Bureau of Elections reviewed the sample, considered challenges and responses, and determined that 612 signatures were valid. Bureau staff recommended that the petition not be certified.
What happened at Monday’s meeting?
The Board of State Canvassers is made up of four members, two Republicans and two Democrats.
On Monday, Board members spent hours reviewing individual disputed signatures. They examined issues such as whether signatures matched the voter file, whether dates and addresses were valid, whether supporting information had been submitted by required deadlines, and whether additional evidence could be considered.
Some decisions had bipartisan agreement. Others resulted in 2-2 votes.
By the end of the review, 626 sampled signatures had been accepted as valid, three short of the 629 needed for certification. The Board had not reached agreement on a decisive number of other disputed signatures.
Because at least three votes are needed for the Board to act, the petition was not certified for the November ballot.
What does the proposal do?
If the ACVM amendment ultimately reaches the ballot and is approved by voters, it would change Michigan’s voter registration and identification requirements.
Among other changes, the proposal would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote. A regular Michigan driver’s license or state ID, including a standard REAL ID, does not by itself prove U.S. citizenship and would not satisfy that requirement.
The proposal would also make changes affecting voters who cannot show photo identification when voting. Michigan currently allows a voter without acceptable photo ID to sign an affidavit confirming their identity and cast a regular ballot. The proposal would eliminate that option and create different requirements.
VAAC and other voting rights organizations have raised concerns about how these changes could affect eligible voters who do not readily have access to citizenship documents.
What happens next?
Americans for Citizen Voting has said it intends to challenge the Board’s decision.
Under Michigan law, the campaign has seven business days after the Board’s decision, through September 2, to file an appeal directly with the Michigan Supreme Court.
That means it is too early to say with certainty that the proposal will not appear on the November ballot.
Right now, the proposal has not been certified for the ballot. A court could still be asked to decide whether it should be placed there.
If the Michigan Supreme Court ultimately requires the proposal to be certified, questions about the ballot language, including the 100-word summary voters would see on their ballots, would also need to be resolved.
Coalition partners have argued that any ballot summary should clearly explain the documents voters would need under the proposal, including the fact that a regular driver’s license, state ID, or standard REAL ID alone would not establish citizenship for voter registration.
We will keep you updated
This process is still moving, and additional court action is expected soon.
VAAC will continue following the ACVM proposal and share updates about any Michigan Supreme Court action, whether the proposal will appear on the November ballot, and what the final decision means for Michigan voters.
For now, the key point is:
The ACVM proposal was not certified for the November ballot on August 24, but the question may still be decided by the Michigan Supreme Court.
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