LANSING, Mich. — Two deadlocks came out of the Board of State Canvassers meeting today after a nearly eight hour meeting. Neither Promote the Vote nor Reproductive Freedom for All have been officially placed on the November ballot.
The first three hours of the Board of State Canvassers Meeting were comprised of public comment. The vast majority of speakers came to voice their opinion over the Reproductive Freedom for All amendment, which could codify reproductive rights and abortion rights in the Michigan Constitution. Protesters also gathered outside.
Discussion over Promote the Vote kicked off the meeting, and ultimately, the board voted along party lines, two Democrats voted in favor of certifying the ballot initiative and two Republicans voted against saying that the proposal language failed to state how aspects of the state constitution would be effected by the proposal.
“It’s really just trumped up for the sake of argument to block it," said Khalilah Spencer a Promote the Vote board member. "And you’ll probably see the same going forward if this continues to be allowed. It’s really not the state Board of Canvassers place to determine legal issues.”
That same theme was brought up again over the issue of spacing and formatting errors within the Reproductive Freedom for All petition. Challengers argued that the petition was so poorly written that people who signed the petition did not know what they were signing.
“The board was supposed to do one thing today and affirm that we had the signatures. Their own bureau said that we did, so we're still optimistic that we'll be on the ballot in November," said Darci McConnell, a spokeswoman for Reproductive Freedom for All.
Reproductive Freedom For All announced soon after the board meeting that they will be seeking judicial intervention to get the issue on the ballot.
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