Yesterday, at 5:00 pm was the deadline for organizations to submit petitions with the Michigan Secretary of State’s office to place their proposed Constitutional amendment on the November 2022 ballot.
At the end of the day, two proposals were submitted that conservatives across Michigan should pay close attention to. Should these amendments be approved by the Secretary of State's office -- I believe they will --both will appear before us on the ballot this November.
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Amendment #1: "Promote the Vote 2022"
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If passed, Promote the Vote 2022 would:
- Prohibit photo ID requirements for voting, allowing voters to sign an affidavit attesting to their identity when voting.
- Require the Legislature to fund postage for absentee ballot applications and absentee ballot return envelopes. It would also require a tracking system for absentee ballots.
- Legalize ballot harvesting.
- Allow local units of government and counties to accept funding from public and "charitable sources" to fund election administration.
- Require municipalities to have one ballot dropbox for every 15,000 voters.
- Allow voters to register for permanent absentee voting, where they would automatically receive an absentee ballot every election without having to apply first.
- Prohibits future post-election audits unless conducted by state or county election officials. It also bars officials from political parties from participating in election audits.
- Require that Michigan have at least nine (9) days of early voting.
- Allow overseas military ballots post-marked on Election Day to count if they are received within six (6) days of the election.
In 2018, nearly 67% of Michigan residents approved Proposal 3, the first Constitutional amendment organized by "Promote the Vote." Proposal 3 of 2018 was the Constitutional amendment that authorized same-day voter registration and no-reason absentee ballots, among other election policy changes.
Now, Promote the Vote is back and looking to pass another Constitutional amendment to change our state's election laws further.
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Amendment #2: "On-Demand Abortions"
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This petition was titled "The Reproductive Freedom for All" amendment, but don't be fooled by its name. If adopted, Michigan would have the most extreme-progressive abortion laws enshrined into our state's Constitution. Organizations such as Planned Parenthood and the ACLU led the charge on this amendment.
In total, this amendment would overrule 47 different existing abortion laws in our state. To name a few, this amendment would:
- Legalize abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy, including up to the point of birth, allowing for partial-birth abortions.
- Abolish informed consent and parental consent laws.
- Eliminate the 24-hour waiting period.
- Create provisions that allow minor children to obtain sterilization and hormone therapy without parental consent.
- Eliminate conscience protection laws for medical personnel who do not want to perform abortions.
- Eliminate current laws that require babies born alive during an abortion procedure to be protected and medically cared for.
- Allow for tax-payer-funded abortions.
- Allow school employees to help students obtain an abortion without parental consent.
Here is an excellent resource with additional details on this amendment.
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It's extremely important to note that both of these are Constitutional amendments. Both amendments are thousands of words long; however, voters will only get to read a 100-word summary on the ballot.
Stay tuned for additional updates as these two amendments make their way through the verification process over the coming weeks.
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