Michigan petition groups begin final push. What will make the ballot?

At least one Michigan group is still actively circulating petitions in an attempt to put a campaign finance proposal on Michigan’s November ballot
The state is reviewing signatures submitted by a group seeking to require proof of citizenship for voting and tighter voter ID
Several other groups already fell short of signatures goals and have ended or suspended their campaigns

LANSING — Michigan voters will be asked to decide at least one ballot proposal this fall because the state automatically asks about the need for a constitutional convention every 16 years.

But will there be others?

After a flurry of groups began planning or circulating petitions last year, only a few still have a shot at making the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

Among them: An effort to tighten voter identification and require citizenship verification, and another to ban political donations by regulated utilities or large state contractors.

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Michigan is one of 24 states that allows individuals or groups to circulate petitions to put measures on the ballot. But the process isn’t easy.

This year, it will take 446,198 valid voter signatures collected within a 180-day window to put a constitutional amendment on the Michigan ballot, 356,958 signatures to initiate legislation or 223,099 to force a referendum on an existing law.

Groups usually try to collect significantly more than that because some signatures are invariably deemed invalid during a review by the state.

The daunting task has already caused some groups to drop out, ending or suspending efforts to implement ranked choice voting, tax the rich and more.

With signature filing deadlines fast approaching — May 27 for initiated legislation and July 6 for constitutional amendments — here is where things stand on various petition efforts.

Signatures filed: Americans for Citizen Voting

To date, Americans for Citizen Voting is the only petition group to turn signatures in to the state in hopes of making the fall ballot.

Early last month, organizers filed what they said were “more than 750,000 petition signatures” to the Board of State Canvassers, topping the 446,198 required to put the constitutional amendment on the Michigan ballot.

Turning in signatures does not guarantee ballot access, however. The Michigan Bureau of Elections will review each signature before recommending to canvassers whether or not to certify the petitions.

If it makes the ballot and is approved by voters, the proposal would require verification of citizenship for all voters while mandating the removal of noncitizens from voting rolls after a 45-day response window.

It would also tighten voter ID rules by eliminating an option for voters without an ID to vote by submitting an affidavit of identity. The measure would task lawmakers with figuring out a way to provide low-income Michiganders access to citizenship-proving documents at “no cost.”

A separate petition group that also sought to address the rare possibility of noncitizen voters — Protect Voters Rights — appears to have had less success with signature gathering. It remains a question as to whether they’ll be able to gather enough signatures by next month.

Still collecting: Michiganders for Money Out of Politics

Organizers with a group seeking to bar political spending by DTE Energy, Consumers Energy and large state contractors say they’ve collected around 250,000 signatures to date.

Michiganders for Money Out of Politics needs to gather just over 356,000 valid signatures by late May to put its initiated legislation on the ballot. The group is aiming for “at least 550,000” to give it a cushion, organizer Sean McBrearty told Bridge.

“We are right on track with where we need to be to get to our goal,” said McBrearty, who is also the state director for Clean Water Action, an environmental protection group.

Petition circulators — Michiganders for Money Out of Politics said it had 500 petition circulators at the latest round of No Kings protests in late March. (Simon Schuster/Bridge Michigan)

Should it make the ballot – and voters approve it – the proposal would prohibit regulated electric and gas utilities from “making direct or indirect campaign contributions to those who run for or hold offices that impact them,” according to an initiative summary approved in 2025.

That ban on political giving would also apply to companies with at least $250,000 a year in government contracts.

Still counting: AxMITax

Organizers with AxMITax are again trying to eliminate all property taxes in Michigan after failing to make the ballot in 2024.

Executive Director Karla Wagner, who is also running for governor as an independent after leaving the Republican primary, told Bridge the group is done collecting signatures but wouldn’t say how many they’ve secured.

Organizers needed to collect at least 446,198 valid voter signatures to put the constitutional amendment on the November ballot, and AxMITax attempted to do it using only volunteer circulators.

State law requires organizers to collect all those signatures within 180 days, and Wagner previously announced the group was shifting that window, suggesting they were struggling to reach targets.

This week, Wagner said she is still collecting previously filled out petitions, collating them and trying to determine “if we have enough to submit” to canvassers. The goal, she added, is 600,000 signatures.

Multiple delays have left some onlookers skeptical.

Michigan Republican Party Grassroots Vice Chair Chris Long has already written it off as a “failed” effort.

“AxMiTax had no meaningful funding. There was no serious donor pipeline,” Long wrote in a March 26 post on Substack. “There was no ability to buy radio time, run media ads, or build a paid communications operation. And … prior attacks on Republicans and legislators made fundraising even harder by damaging potential relationships with donors.”

In speaking with Bridge, Wagner said if the group comes up short again this year, she will keep trying the next election cycle.

“No one should lose their property for any service,” Wagner said. “I don’t think there’s any service out there that is worthy of someone losing their home, their farm or their business.”

Didn’t make it: Rank MI Vote, Invest in MI Kids, Voters to Stop Paycuts

At least three petition groups that were seeking a spot on the November ballot have called it quits by suspending signature gathering efforts.

The first to bow out was Rank MI Vote in December 2025. Organizers hoped to implement ranked choice voting in Michigan, which would have allowed voters to rank candidates in order of preference.

The group needed to collect 446,198 signatures in a 180-day window but reportedly had fewer than 200,000 by late 2025 and faced significant headwinds heading into this year.

In March, both Invest in MI Kids and Voters to Stop Paycuts also suspended their signature gathering efforts.

Invest in MI Kids sought to tax the rich to raise more money for schools. The proposal would have imposed a 5% income tax surcharge for individuals making more than $500,000 a year and couples making more than $1 million.

Organizers needed to collect at least 446,198 signatures but suspended the campaign on March 12. Both Invest in MI Kids and Rank MI Vote have said they’ll try again for the 2027 ballot.

Voters to Stop Paycuts, meanwhile, would have needed to gather 223,099 signatures to put a referendum on the November ballot.

Organizers hoped to undo a 2025 law Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed that scaled back court-ordered increases to Michigan’s minimum wage and subminimum wage for tipped workers.