The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a ballot measure on the state's abortion restrictions can be voted on in November.
The 5-2 ruling allows the Michigan Right to Reproductive Freedom initiative to appear on the ballot, which activists hope will boost Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's reelection bid by fueling Democratic enthusiasm. It failed to make the ballot during an Aug. 30 Michigan Board of State Canvassers vote that deadlocked 2-2 along party lines.
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The measure, if it passes, would cement "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" into the state constitution. The group that introduced it seeks to overturn a nearly century-old law that outlaws abortion in all cases except when the mother's life is at risk.
The election board certified that more than 500,000 of the 700,000 signatures collected to get it on the ballot were valid, which would usually mean it could appear. However, the Board of State Canvassers does not have to take the recommendation from the Michigan Bureau of Elections, which is why the initiative faltered during the vote. Opponents claimed the method in which signatures were collected may have confused some signers.
"They would disenfranchise millions of Michiganders not because they believe the many thousands of Michiganders who signed the proposal were confused by it, but because they think they have identified a technicality that allows them to do so, a game of gotcha gone very bad. What a sad marker of the times," Chief Justice Bridget McCormack said in her majority opinion.
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The U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade on June 24 triggered Michigan's restrictive abortion law. The ban is not being enforced while it's tied up in the courts, and the initiative seeks to block it permanently by guaranteeing abortion access through a constitutional amendment.
The court also instructed the election board to certify a voting reform ballot proposal. The Board of State Canvassers also deadlocked over this proposal, which would mandate a nine-day early voting window before elections, allow people who requested absentee ballots in one election to receive one in future elections automatically, and have the state prepay for postage on any mail-in ballots.
