Michigan GOP petitions to rewrite voting, pandemic and school laws in 2022

LANSING — Michigan Republicans want to tighten voting laws, limit pandemic regulations and create a voucher-like school scholarship program in 2022.

And they could do it all without approval from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has already vetoed similar measures, and without a vote of the people in the next election.

Instead, Republicans are circulating a trio of petitions that would allow them to circumvent Whitmer and create new laws of their own, a maneuver that experts say is clearly legal but has never been utilized with such frequency — and such high stakes.

The Michigan Constitution includes an indirect initiative process allowing legislators to adopt measures initiated by petitions that are signed by at least 8 percent of voters in the state’s last gubernatorial election. And it is one of just two states with a provision expressly prohibiting a gubernatorial veto.

Read more: https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/michigan-gop-petitions-rewrite-voting-pandemic-and-school-laws-2022