Signing a petition is a great way to directly impact our communities. When signing, keep these tips in mind:
- Read carefully. Take time to read the summary and the attached petition. Circulators are not required to understand or accurately represent their petition, and many circulators get paid by how many signatures they collect.
- Investigate who supports and who doesn’t. You can see the name(s) of funders at the bottom of the petition page and research supporters and opposition for the petition online.
- Provide the right information. Verify that the information you put down, including your address and signature, matches your voter registration or your ID used for voting.
Not sure what petitions are going around? Here’s what you need to know:
- Citizen Voting
- Rank MI Vote
- Invest in MI Kids
- AXMITAX
- Voters to Stop Pay Cuts
- Michiganders for Money Out of Politics
Citizen voting
These proposals would require voters to provide additional documents when registering to vote. It would also require them to show their ID when casting their ballot.
- Voters would need to show their birth certificate, passport or other sensitive documents when registering to vote.
- A citizen could no longer use their driver’s licenses to register as a voter.
- An absentee voter would need to send their drivers’ license number, an original or copy of their ID, or the last four digits of their social security number in the mail.
| Pros
• The government may waive fees for people who struggle to get documents, although the legislature would decide who qualifies. |
Cons:
• More red tape. • Many rural, married women, low-income, and student voters don’t have the documents these proposals would require. • In other states, similar policies deny thousands of citizens their right to vote. • The proposal would discourage voters who don’t want to send sensitive information in the mail from casting their ballots absentee. • Our state constitution already requires that all registered voters be citizens, which the Secretary of State verifies. |
Rank MI Vote
Under this proposal, Michigan would use rank choice voting in federal and some state elections.
- Rank choice voting is a system where voters rank candidates. At first, voters’ top choices are counted. If no candidate has a clear majority, the candidate with the least voters is eliminated, and voters who chose that candidate have their votes redistributed to their next choice. This process repeats until one candidate has a majority.
- Voters would use rank choice voting in elections for members of Congress, president, governor, secretary of state and attorney general. Voters wouldn’t rank candidates for the Michigan Legislature, and local offices could choose whether to opt-in.
| Pros:
• Supporters argue that rank choice voting gives candidates a greater incentive to attract all voters, reduce polarization and prevent "spoiler" candidates. |
Cons:
• Critics argue that rank choice voting could delay election results and potentially confuse voters. |
Invest in MI Kids
This proposal would raise money for schools by putting in place an additional 5% tax on income higher than $500,000 for individuals, and higher than $1 million for couples.
| Pros:
• Funding from the petition could help lower class sizes, recruit and retain teachers, fund career and technical education and improve learning environments. |
Cons:
• Critics argue that the proposal could limit business investment in the state, although the tax only impacts individual taxes and not business taxes. • Some have criticized the proposal because it only benefits public schools and not charter or private schools. |
AxMITax
This proposal would eliminate all property taxes in the state and make it more difficult to raise property taxes in the future.
- Property taxes are a significant source of funding for schools and local governments; in 2024, these taxes raised $20.4 billion across the state.
- In the future, increases to local taxes would require approval from 60% instead of 50% of voters.
- The proposal would direct the state to send revenue from sales tax to local governments.
| Pros:
• The proposal would partially make up for the local budget shortfall it would create by directing state funds to local governments. |
Cons:
• Critics argue that the proposal would lead to a funding crisis, forcing local governments and schools to cut services. • The proposal would require the state to rely more on sales taxes. Low-income people tend to spend a greater percentage of their income on sales taxes than high-income people, making these taxes regressive. |
Voters to Stop Pay Cuts
This proposal would repeal a law so that the minimum wage for tipped workers reaches the same level as untipped workers by 2030.
- Currently, the Michigan minimum wage for tipped workers is $4.74, which is less than half of the minimum wage for non-tipped workers.
- In 2018, a group called One Fair Wage began circulating petition to get rid of Michigan’s tipped minimum wage. The state legislature adopted the proposal as law but drastically changed it. In July 2024, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the legislature’s tactic was unconstitutional, requiring that the law go into effect without the legislature’s changes. In February 2025, the legislature passed a bipartisan package to scale back the law and keep the tipped wage.
- The proposal would repeal the February package, allowing the original proposal to enter effect.
| Pros:
• Relying on tips puts restaurant workers at greater risk of experiencing sexual harassment and wage theft. • A 2015 study found that raising the tipped wage increased earnings in full-service restaurants, with an insignificant impact on jobs. |
Cons:
• Critics argue that eliminating the tipped minimum wage would decimate the restaurant industry and lead workers to lose their jobs (although many economists disagree). • Tips let some servers make more than the minimum wage. |
Michiganders for Money Out of Politics
This proposal would stop state-regulated energy or gas companies with more than $250,000 each year in government contracts from making political donations.
| Pros:
• Supporters argue that the proposal would reduce corporate sway in politics. |
Cons:
• Some critics argue that limiting political donations from businesses restricts free speech. |