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    October 6, 2022

    Get Informed About the Three Ballot Questions

    In a nutshell:

    • Voters are being asked to consider three proposed constitutional amendments on the November 8, 2022, general election ballot, each dealing with a very different topic (state legislative term limits and financial disclosure, voting rights, and reproductive rights).
    • The Research Council has spent weeks analyzing the proposed amendments and has published the results of our research in a variety of formats.
    • Armed with the Research Council’s unbiased, objective, and nonpartisan analyses, voters can exercise their fundamental right to vote, either in-person or via mail-in voting, knowing they are well-informed on these important issues.

    With less than five weeks before Election Day, many voters are likely already tired of hearing the constant barrage of political ads pounding their media streams. Whether you have cut the cord and migrated to on-line media content or remain a cable TV subscriber, there is no escaping the seemingly 24/7 onslaught of 30-second sound bytes about candidates for partisan office or the myriad state and local ballot questions appearing on the November 8 ballot. Enough is enough! Right?

    No doubt the upcoming election is a very big and important one for Michiganders (the top three statewide offices are being contested and voters must decide on three constitutional amendments), but we could all use a little less of the hyper-partisan rhetoric and more facts to help guide our voting decisions. Where is a person to turn to get informed about the choices they face this November?

    This is where the work of the Citizens Research Council comes in. Our goal this fall is to help fill-in the gaping void of objective, nonpartisan, and unbiased information about the three statewide ballot questions. While our mission precludes us from recommending a yes or no vote on any of the questions, our published research should be a “must read” for any voter looking to educate themselves about the key issues at the heart of each proposal.

    For each of the proposed constitutional amendments, the Research Council has published a report that can serve as a study guide for voters. Proposal 1 would modify the implementation of legislative term limits and require certain financial disclosures for state elective offices. Proposal 2 would add several voting and elections provisions to the constitution. Proposal 3 would establish an explicit right to “reproductive freedom,” including all matters related to pregnancy.

    In addition to a written analysis of each ballot question, we hosted a webinar on October 5 to cover the key issues in each proposed constitutional amendment. A recording of the webinar has been posted to our website and is now available for viewing. As we have done in the past, we partnered with the Lansing-based MIRS news service to promote the webinar and highlight our work. We greatly appreciate the earned-media exposure we gain from this partnership.

    Armed with the Research Council’s unbiased, objective, and nonpartisan ballot analyses, voters should be able to cut through all the noise and rhetoric they get from their various media streams. Our hope is that they use our work to become better informed about the three proposed constitutional amendments that they have been asked to decide. Again, we can’t tell people how to vote on these ballot questions nor do we endeavor to do so. But we have made it part of our mission to help educate voters through our written reports and a recent webinar. If you haven’t done so already, we encourage you to take a look at these resources before you cast your vote.

    Get Informed About the Three Ballot Questions

    In a nutshell:

    • Voters are being asked to consider three proposed constitutional amendments on the November 8, 2022, general election ballot, each dealing with a very different topic (state legislative term limits and financial disclosure, voting rights, and reproductive rights).
    • The Research Council has spent weeks analyzing the proposed amendments and has published the results of our research in a variety of formats.
    • Armed with the Research Council’s unbiased, objective, and nonpartisan analyses, voters can exercise their fundamental right to vote, either in-person or via mail-in voting, knowing they are well-informed on these important issues.

    With less than five weeks before Election Day, many voters are likely already tired of hearing the constant barrage of political ads pounding their media streams. Whether you have cut the cord and migrated to on-line media content or remain a cable TV subscriber, there is no escaping the seemingly 24/7 onslaught of 30-second sound bytes about candidates for partisan office or the myriad state and local ballot questions appearing on the November 8 ballot. Enough is enough! Right?

    No doubt the upcoming election is a very big and important one for Michiganders (the top three statewide offices are being contested and voters must decide on three constitutional amendments), but we could all use a little less of the hyper-partisan rhetoric and more facts to help guide our voting decisions. Where is a person to turn to get informed about the choices they face this November?

    This is where the work of the Citizens Research Council comes in. Our goal this fall is to help fill-in the gaping void of objective, nonpartisan, and unbiased information about the three statewide ballot questions. While our mission precludes us from recommending a yes or no vote on any of the questions, our published research should be a “must read” for any voter looking to educate themselves about the key issues at the heart of each proposal.

    For each of the proposed constitutional amendments, the Research Council has published a report that can serve as a study guide for voters. Proposal 1 would modify the implementation of legislative term limits and require certain financial disclosures for state elective offices. Proposal 2 would add several voting and elections provisions to the constitution. Proposal 3 would establish an explicit right to “reproductive freedom,” including all matters related to pregnancy.

    In addition to a written analysis of each ballot question, we hosted a webinar on October 5 to cover the key issues in each proposed constitutional amendment. A recording of the webinar has been posted to our website and is now available for viewing. As we have done in the past, we partnered with the Lansing-based MIRS news service to promote the webinar and highlight our work. We greatly appreciate the earned-media exposure we gain from this partnership.

    Armed with the Research Council’s unbiased, objective, and nonpartisan ballot analyses, voters should be able to cut through all the noise and rhetoric they get from their various media streams. Our hope is that they use our work to become better informed about the three proposed constitutional amendments that they have been asked to decide. Again, we can’t tell people how to vote on these ballot questions nor do we endeavor to do so. But we have made it part of our mission to help educate voters through our written reports and a recent webinar. If you haven’t done so already, we encourage you to take a look at these resources before you cast your vote.

  • Permission to reprint this blog post in whole or in part is hereby granted, provided that the Citizens Research Council of Michigan is properly cited.

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  • Stay informed of new research published and other Citizens Research Council news.
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