MICHIGAN ELECTION LAW
Act 116 of 1954
168.471 Petitions proposing constitutional amendments; filing; signature requirements.
Sec. 471.
Petitions under section 2 of article XII of the state constitution of 1963 proposing an amendment to the constitution must be filed with the secretary of state at least 120 days before the election at which the proposed amendment is to be voted upon. Initiative petitions under section 9 of article II of the state constitution of 1963 must be filed with the secretary of state at least 160 days before the election at which the proposed law would appear on the ballot if the legislature rejects or fails to enact the proposed law. Referendum petitions under section 9 of article II of the state constitution of 1963 must be filed with the secretary of state not more than 90 days following the final adjournment of the legislative session at which the law that is the subject of the referendum was enacted. Not more than 15% of the signatures to be used to determine the validity of a petition described in this section shall be of registered electors from any 1 congressional district. Any signature submitted on a petition above the limit described in this section must not be counted. When filing a petition described in this section with the secretary of state, a person must sort the petition so that the petition signatures are categorized by congressional district. In addition, when filing a petition described in this section with the secretary of state, the person who files the petition must state in writing a good-faith estimate of the number of petition signatures from each congressional district.
History: 1954, Act 116, Eff. June 1, 1955 ;-- Am. 1963, 2nd Ex. Sess., Act 9, Imd. Eff. Dec. 27, 1963 ;-- Am. 1999, Act 219, Eff. Mar. 10, 2000 ;-- Am. 2018, Act 608, Imd. Eff. Dec. 28, 2018
Constitutionality Notes:
The geographic distribution requirement that not more than 15% of the signatures come from any 1 congressional district, as added by Act 608 of 2018, violates the state constitution of 1963. League of Women Voters of Mich v Sec’y of State, 508 Mich 520 (2022).
PopularName Notes:
Election Code
Notes of Decisions
Michigan United Conservation Clubs v. Sec'y of State, 630 N.W.2d 297 (Mich. 2001).
· cites it 2× “2, 9; MCL 168.471, 168.472. Additionally, if the people believe that the Legislature has abused its powers by capriciously precluding their power of referral, the traditional means of voter sanction remain recall and the ballot box.”
Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution v. Sec'y of State, 922 N.W.2d 404 (Mich. Ct. App. 2018).
“THE INITIATIVE PETITION On June 28, 2017, VNP Ballot Committee filed an initiative petition for the ballot proposal (the VNP Proposal) with the Secretary as required by MCL 168.471. 1 After staff at the Bureau of Elections (the Bureau) initially refused to recommend that the…”
League Of Women Voters Of Michigan V Sec'y Of State (Mich. 2022).
· cites it 23× “Specifically, 2018 PA 608 amended MCL 168.471 to state that no more than 15% of the signatures used to determine the validity of a petition could be from any one congressional district; it amended MCL 168.”
League Of Women Voters Of Michigan V Sec'y Of State (Mich. 2022).
· cites it 23× “Specifically, 2018 PA 608 amended MCL 168.471 to state that no more than 15% of the signatures used to determine the validity of a petition could be from any one congressional district; it amended MCL 168.”
Boards of Cnty. Road Commissioners v. Bd. of State Canvassers, 213 N.W.2d 298 (Mich. Ct. App. 1973).
“g of pleadings and briefs by the respective parties this Court on June 28, 1973, ordered the complaint for mandamus be dismissed for the reason that the Board of State Canvassers was at the time in the process of determining whether the petitions had been signed by the requisite…”
Senate v. Sec'y of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2020).
· cites it 9× “First, the act amended MCL 168.471, governing petitions that propose an amendment to the Michigan Constitution, initiative petitions, and referendum petitions.”
Senate v. Sec'y of State (Mich. Ct. App. 2020).
· cites it 5× “For the reasons that follow, I concur with the majority opinion in concluding that (1) the 15% geographic limit set forth in MCL 168.471, and (2) the affidavit requirement of MCL 168.”
Senate v. Sec'y of State (Mich. 2020).
· cites it 2× “First, it amended the standards in MCL 168.471 for determining the validity of a petition by requiring that not more than 15% of the signatures to be used could be those of registered electors from any one congressional district, and it also amended MCL 168.”
SawariMedia LLC v. Whitmer (E.D. Mich. 2020).
· cites it 2× “See Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.471 (requiring the filing of initiative petitions with the Secretary of State “at least 160 days before the election at which the proposed law would appear on the ballot”).”
SawariMedia LLC v. Whitmer (E.D. Mich. 2020).
· cites it 2× “See Mich. Comp. Laws § 168.471 (requiring the filing of initiative petitions with the Secretary of State “at least 160 days before the election at which the proposed law would appear on the ballot”).”
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