CRC's Analysis of Ballot Issues

BALLOT PROPOSALS

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The right to criticize government is also an obligation to know what you are talking about.
-Lent Upson, 1st Executive Director of CRC

This page has analyses of issues that will appear on Michigan's statewide ballot at the November 4, 2008 general election. The Citizens Research Council of Michigan does not endorse candidates for office or take position on ballot issues. In analyzing these ballot issues, CRC hopes to provide more information so that voters can make better informed decisions in formulating their vote.

October 16, 2009. Two ballot issues are scheduled to appear on the 2009 Detroit general election ballot.

Proposal D: Election of Detroit City Council Members
Proposal D proposes an amendment to the Detroit City Charter to change from the current at-large system of electing city council members to a hybrid system in which some members are elected from districts and others are elected at large. The analysis provides some historical context to the council election method, discusses the context within which these changes are proposed, describes the proposed changes, and analyzes issues to be considered relative to district or at-large elections.

CRC's Analysis

Proposal S: Detroit Public Schools Bond Proposal
Proposal S would allow Detroit Public Schools to borrow $500.5 million for the construction and renovation of school facilities. If the proposal passes, DPS plans to use the bond proceeds to build eight new schools and modernize or renovate 10 schools. The analysis of Proposal S explains how the proposed bond issuance is structured to take advantage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009. It looks at the finances of the school district, the amount of existing debt, and the unsettled governance issues that loom in the background.

CRC's Analysis

Voting Information

Election Day: November 3, 2009

Michigan Secretary of State's Information for Voters
Information about registering to vote, absentee voting, election officials, and state law.

The Ballot Proposal Process in Michigan: A Synopsis

There are four methods whereby a proposal can be placed on the statewide ballot in Michigan: (1) statutory initiative, (2) voter referendum, (3) legislative referendum, and (4) constitutional amendment.

STATUTORY INITIATIVE is defined by Section 9 of Article 2 of the Michigan Constitution as the power which the people reserve to themselves "to propose laws and to enact and reject laws." The power of initiative extends to any law the Legislature may enact and is invoked by filing petitions containing signatures of registered voters equal in number to at least eight percent of the total votes cast in the last election for governor. The Legislature is required to enact, without modification, or reject any proposed initiative within 40 session days. An initiative not enacted by the Legislature is placed on the statewide ballot at the next general election. A law that is initiated or adopted by the people is not subject to gubernatorial veto and one adopted by voters cannot subsequently be amended or repealed except by the voters or by a three-fourths vote of the Legislature.

VOTER REFERENDUM is defined by Section 9 of Article 2 of the Michigan Constitution as the power "to approve and reject laws enacted by the legislature." Referendum must be invoked, within 90 days of final adjournment of the legislative session during which the law in question was enacted, by filing petitions containing signatures of registered voters equal in number to at least five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the last general election. The effect of invoking a referendum is to suspend the law in question until voters approve or reject it at the next general election.

LEGISLATIVE REFERENDUM is authorized by Section 34 of Article 4 of the Michigan Constitution, which provides that "[a]ny bill passed by the legislature and approved by the governor, except a bill appropriating money, may provide that it will not become law unless approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon."

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT is authorized by Sections 1 and 2 of Article 12 of the Michigan Constitution and may be proposed either by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature or by filing petitions containing signatures of registered voters equal in number to at least ten percent of the total votes cast for governor in the last general election.

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Last Updated October 16, 2009