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LANSING — The Michigan Constitution could undergo a rewrite if a November ballot question is approved by voters.
The proposal to hold a state constitutional convention goes before voters every 16 years, as required in the current constitution.
If a state constitutional convention is approved this November by voters, another election would be held for each state House and Senate district to nominate 148 delegates statewide.
Delegates would then meet later in 2027 to write a new constitution, with all aspects having to be approved by a majority of the body.
And finally, a rewritten constitution would have to be approved by voters at least 90 days after the convention adjourns.
“Whatever they came up with would have to be then brought to the people for a vote — whether to keep our current constitution or adopt this new one that they draft,” said Eric Lupher, president of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.
The CRC is analyzing each Article of the Michigan Constitution, how it’s changed since 1963 and the potential impacts of a new revision.
Lupher says that everything would be on the table, including the role of Michigan’s governor, the state’s education system and how taxes are collected.
“Having a convention allows us to tackle everything from start to finish and take a holistic look at it,” he said. “Is the system broken and we need to blow it up and start over, or should we keep going with the opportunity to amend it from time to time as needed?”
Michigan is one of about a dozen states that automatically ask voters to re-approve their state constitution, and previous questions since the 1960s have all been defeated.
The proposal is being opposed by a wide range of organizations, including the ACLU, Citizens for Traditional Values, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the state AFL-CIO.
“We all agree that this is this is too risky, that it’s not worth the risk, especially during an election season when there’s enough other issues to worry about already,” said Drew Beardslee, VP of government affairs for the Michigan Retailers Association.
Groups like the MRA say that a rewrite of the constitution could undermine the stability of state’s business environment.
“Retail and small business thrive on predictability and on stability,” he said. “And to do a move of this size would really change a lot of the rules, right under our feet, and so I think that’s sort of the uncertainty that we’re wary of.”
Bart Stupak, a former Democratic Congressman who represented Northern Michigan for nearly 20 years, says a rewrite could open the door for special interests to unfairly influence the way the state runs.
“It could all be changed because somebody has an agenda, and it’s usually going to be the rich people who are going to elect these people because there is no campaign finance laws on delegates and how they run their campaign,” he said. “I’m just fearful.”
