Voting, reproductive rights headed for November ballot | Local News

TRAVERSE CITY — Fred Bimber calls himself a foot soldier, having spent hours gathering petition signatures at the library, the farmers market, rallies and on street corners to get a voting rights initiative on the November ballot.

The Traverse City resident gave up his law practice about a year ago and said collecting signatures was a good use of his time, especially when so much is at stake.

“There are moves afoot in the country to overturn the consequences of elections,” Bimber said. “Our democracy is being undermined and this is one way to attempt to prevent that.”

In Manton, 19-year-old Madyson Oster said she didn’t have to go far to get signatures for a reproductive rights petition.

“A lot of my friends are furious about (Roe being overturned),” Oster said. “Their boyfriends were so furious so they all signed and all of their friends signed.”

Oster was thrilled that enough signatures were gathered to get both the reproductive rights and voting rights initiatives on the ballot for Michigan voters in November. If approved, those rights will be enshrined in the state Constitution.

“Now we just have to get all those people who signed to vote,” she said.

Record numbers of signatures of registered voters for both initiatives were turned this week. Signatures collected for the Right to Reproductive Freedom total 753,759, while the Right to Voting Policies Amendment campaign collected 669,972. Both set state records and far outnumbered the 425,059 that were needed, which is 10 percent of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election.

Both campaigns turned in boxes stacked high and filled with petitions at the state capital on Monday, the filing deadline, that will be reviewed by the state Bureau of Elections and certified by the Board of State Canvassers before appearing on the ballot.

Chris Cracchiolo, chair of the Grand Traverse County Democratic Party, said he wasn’t surprised at the numbers for either petition drive.

“I saw the energy and passion of many of our members going out to work the farmers markets and other places to gather signatures,” Cracchiolo said. “I thought that would be indicative of what’s going on around the state.”

The voting rights initiative, if passed, will allow for nine days of early voting, require a photo ID or signed affidavit to vote, guarantee that military and overseas ballots postmarked by election day are counted, and require public disclosure of donations used to pay for elections or audits.

It would also provide voters with the right to vote without harassment, interference or intimidation.

Elmwood Township Clerk Connie Preston said making voting easier and more accessible is always better.

“My only concern would be if (early voting) is going to be funded because some of those smaller townships don’t have a township hall,” Preston said. “Where are they going to set up each voting place and who’s going to staff it?”

Preston said many of the things in the voting rights initiative are already being done. But its supporters say enshrining current voter ID rules in the constitution will prevent state lawmakers from changing voting requirements.

Laws can be changed, but a constitutional amendment has greater protection, Bimber said. There are also provisions in the initiative that make it clear that the majority of the vote will determine the outcome of the election.

Clerks and election officials across the country left their posts after the 2020 election and accusations of ballot stuffing, hacked voting machines and dead people voting by mail. Many of those positions are now being filled by people who may be willing to change election results, Bimber said.

Under the amendment “you don’t have election officials that can say, ‘I don’t like that outcome,'” Bimber said.

Another Republican-led petition drive, Secure MI Vote, aimed to do just that by eliminating the ability of a voter to sign an affidavit in lieu of a state-issued ID and requiring a photo ID to be submitted with an application for an absentee ballot . Several provisions in the initiative included banning clerks from sending out absentee ballot applications to all voters.

A unique provision in the Michigan Constitution, the indirectly initiated state statute, allows organizers to collect signatures to send the proposed law to the state legislature, where it can be passed as written without voter approval. The initiatives are also veto-proof.

Despite missing a June 1 filing deadline, Secure MI Vote supporters have said state election officials could review signatures it still plans to submit, according to news reports. A total of 340,047 signatures of registered voters — 8 percent of total votes from the last gubernatorial election — was required.

If state legislators pass Secure MI Vote, it would be nullified with the passage of the voting rights constitutional amendment, according to the Michigan Constitution.

The Right to Reproductive Freedom measure, if passed, will give citizens a constitutional right to reproductive freedom, defined by the initiative as “the right to make and effectuate decisions about all matters relating to pregnancy, including but not limited to prenatal care, childbirth, postpartum care, contraception, sterilization, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care.”

Under the initiative, the state’s ability to regulate abortion after fetal viability except to protect the life of the mother will not change.

Rachel Pascoe, 18, signed the reproductive freedom petition — her first since being registered to vote.

“I’ve always been pro-choice but ever since Roe v. Wade got overturned I felt it important to stand up for our rights,” Pascoe said. “It’s also more important for me to be open about my views and be involved.”

On June 24 the US Supreme Court overturned a nearly 50-year precedent that made abortions legal across the country in 1973. The recent ruling leaves it to individual states to determine if abortions will be legal.

Many states already had “trigger” laws in place that went into effect when the ruling came down. Most of them outlaw abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.

In Michigan, a law passed in 1931 bans abortion without exceptions for rape and incest and criminalizes medical professionals who provide the care. gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Planned Parenthood Michigan filed suit and in May the Michigan Court of claims granted a preliminary injunction until the lawsuit is settled.

“None of us want to get an abortion and none of us ever want to be in the situation where we have to make that decision,” Oster said. “But if we are, that should be our choice.”

She also worries about other reproductive rights that could be taken away, such as the morning-after pill and birth control.

“The moment we take away one choice we open the door for a lot of other things,” Oster said.

After the May leak of a draft opinion stating SCOTUS intended to overturn Roe, the Michigan ballot campaign saw an increase in both volunteers and donations.

According to the nonprofit Ballotpedia, a bipartisan website that tracks elections, cash and in-kind contributions for the Reproductive Freedom campaign total $1,873 million so far.

Top donors are the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood Advocates Michigan and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Contributions to the Citizens to Support Michigan Women and Children Committee that opposes the initiative total $108,187, with top donors listed as Right to Life of Michigan and Huron County Right to Life. Another $4,837 was given in in-kind donations.

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