A grassroots group that wants to get an anti-gerrymandering proposal on the 2018 ballot is looking to make progress this week.
Voters Not Politicians is the non-partisan group in charge of the effort. It wants to change how the state draws its district lines.
The Board of State Canvassers will meet Thursday to approve or reject the form of the petition. They will look at things like font size and which portions of theconstitutionare referenced. This is meant to prevent lawsuits for improper format down the road.
The group is confident the board will approve the format of the petition.
“The Board of Canvassers tends to really listen to the staff because they’re the ones we’ve been working with,” said President of Voters Not Politicians, Katie Fahey. “So we’re hoping that as soon as that meeting’s done we’d actually start gathering signatures. Which would be very cool.”
Fahey said members of the organization plan to bring signature sheets with them to the meeting. That way, they can start gathering signatures right away if it’s approved.
“We only have 180 days to collect 315, 654 signatures,” she said. “So we have to use every day really wisely.”
Once the group collects all the signatures, the Board will meet again to approve the signatures. If the campaign has the required amount, the proposal can go on the ballot.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU todayto keep your community NPR station thriving.
Like 89.1 WEMU on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
—Cheyna Roth is a reporter for the Michigan Public Radio network. Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
