Michigan’s Bureau of Elections has recommended that the Americans for Citizen Voting-Michigan petition be found insufficient to qualify for the November ballot because it did not meet the required signature threshold.
For VAAC and coalition partners that have opposed the proposal because of the barriers it could create for eligible voters, the Bureau’s finding is encouraging. But this is not a final decision.
Michigan’s bipartisan Board of State Canvassers is scheduled to review the petition and make the final determination on Monday, August 24.
What the Bureau of Elections found
ACVM submitted 709,841 petition signatures. A constitutional amendment needs at least 446,198 valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
Michigan does not individually review every submitted signature when a petition contains enough signatures to use the state’s approved random-sampling process. For the ACVM petition, Bureau of Elections staff reviewed a random sample of 1,000 signatures.
The petition needed at least 629 valid signatures in that sample for Bureau staff to recommend certification.
After the Bureau’s initial review, consideration of challenges to signatures, and ACVM’s response to those challenges, 612 of the 1,000 sampled signatures were determined to be valid.
Based on that 61.2% validity rate, the Bureau estimates that ACVM submitted approximately 434,423 valid signatures, 11,775 fewer than the 446,198 required.
Among the reasons sampled signatures were determined to be invalid were missing or nonmatching signatures, signers who were not registered in the city or township listed, invalid dates, duplicate signatures, and missing or incorrect circulator information.
The decision is not final
The Bureau of Elections staff report is a recommendation. The bipartisan Board of State Canvassers makes the final determination about whether the petition has enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
The four-member Board includes two Republicans and two Democrats and is responsible for canvassing statewide ballot proposal petitions.
The Board is scheduled to consider the ACVM petition on:
Monday, August 24, 2026
10:00 AM
Binsfeld Office Building
Room 1100
201 Townsend Street
Lansing, MI 48933
The meeting will also include the canvass of the August 4 Primary Election.
The Board meeting is open to the public, and public comment will be available.
Why the review process matters
Ballot initiatives give Michigan residents an opportunity to propose changes directly to state law or the state Constitution, but petitions must meet specific legal requirements before a proposal can appear on the ballot.
The signature review and certification process is designed to determine whether those requirements have been met. In this case, Bureau staff conducted its initial review, considered a formal challenge to hundreds of sampled signatures, reviewed ACVM’s response, and ultimately determined that 612 signatures in the sample were valid.
Coalition partners have also raised separate concerns about the ACVM campaign, including reports about how the proposal was described during signature collection and campaign finance issues. Those concerns are separate from the Bureau’s August 17 recommendation, which is based on its review of the petition, signature sample, challenges, and responses.
With additional public attention likely as the Board considers the petition, it is important to understand that this determination is being made through Michigan’s established petition-review process: Bureau of Elections staff reviews the petition and makes a recommendation, and the bipartisan Board of State Canvassers makes the final determination.
Attend the August 24 Board of State Canvassers meeting
VAAC and election protection partners are encouraging community members to attend the August 24 meeting in Lansing.
Coalition partners are also continuing to raise concerns about the proposed 100-word ballot summary in case the Board ultimately certifies the proposal for the November ballot.
The Board will accept public comment. Guidance for people planning to comment recommends focusing on whether the proposed summary clearly explains what the amendment would change for Michigan voters and keeping comments brief and impartial.
Read the Know Before You Go guide for more information about the August 24 meeting and public comment.
We will continue following the Board of State Canvassers process and provide an update after the August 24 meeting.
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