Michigan judge strikes down state's ballot drive law
Source: Associated Press
David Eggert, Associated Press
Updated 1:59 pm CDT, Friday, September 27, 2019
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan judge on Friday struck down a new requirement that makes it harder to initiate ballot drives by limiting how many voter signatures can be counted from a single congressional district.
Court of Claims Judge Cynthia Stephens said the state constitution does not allow the geographic limit that was approved by the Republican-led Legislature and then-Gov. Rick Snyder in last year's lame-duck session.
The law says no more than 15% of petition signatures can be used from any one of the state's 14 congressional districts — a restriction that prevents ballot committees from solely targeting the most heavily populated, more Democratic urban areas.
"The effect of the 15% geographic limitation would undoubtedly drive petition circulators from the state's population hubs and would impede circulators' abilities to satisfy the Constitution's signature requirements," Stephens wrote in her opinion.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Michigan-judge-strikes-down-state-s-ballot-drive-14473355.php
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