News

Make Your Mark On The Ballot

Make your mark on the ballot by REBECCA MCNULTY
The State News

Published May 26, 2006

This November, Michigan voters will decide some of the most controversial topics in the state.

They'll have to contemplate whether mourning doves should be hunted, whether to limit eminent domain, if race and gender should be used in college admissions and whether conservation funds that can't be used for other purposes should be established.

Those issues, and possibly others, will be decided by ballot initiatives, a form of policy making that puts decisions directly in the hands of voters.

Julie Baker, campaign director for the Committee to Restore the Dove Shooting Ban and the organization responsible for orchestrating an anti-dove hunting ballot initiative, said it was necessary to use an initiative because legislators weren't adequately responding to complaints after a public act was passed that established a hunting season for mourning doves.

"Unfortunately, the politicians ignored the will of the people," Baker said. "If politicians won't represent us, we'll represent ourselves. The Michigan Constitution protects the people's right to vote on these important issues."

There are different forms of initiatives - some amend the Michigan Constitution, such as 2004's Proposal 2 that established marriage as only between a man and a woman. Others, like the anti-dove hunting initiative, are referendums meant to overturn a previous public act, and some are placed on the ballot after approval by the Michigan Legislature.

Each type requires the signatures of registered voters - the amount varies depending on what kind of initiative is at stake - then it is certified by the Board of State Canvassers before finally making it to the ballot.

For this November's general election, there are four initiatives that are guaranteed to be there, but several more, such as one that would legalize and regulate marijuana and another that would create a unicameral legislature, could be approved before November.

Whether those issues will appear on the ballot th being decided, said Ken Silfven, spokesman for the Michigan Secretary of State.

Although this year's ballot won't have the most initiatives in history - that title is still recognized as belonging to 1978, which had 11 initiatives, Silfven said - it will still feature some controversial issues.

Not everyone supports the use of ballot initiatives to get an issue passed, however.

Jeffrey Montgomery, executive director of the Triangle Foundation, said ballot initiatives, such as Proposal 2, can be harmful and used for divisive purposes just to bring out voters.

"Generally they are not good things because it seems like when people don't get their way in the state Legislature, they turn to ballot initiatives," Montgomery said.

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