(WWJ) – The Michigan Board of State Canvassers has deadlocked 2-2 on a vote that would have put a ballot initiative in front of voters this fall looking to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution.
The board voted along party lines Wednesday afternoon after several hours of public comment. The initiative required at least three votes to make it to the November ballot after more than 700,000 Michiganders signed the petition to put it before voters.
Abortion rights supporters now have seven business days to appeal the board’s decision to the Michigan Supreme Court.
Opponents said the ballot language was confusing and the debate centered around an issue with word spacing in the petition text.
“We did not approve what was circulated. We simply did not,” said Republican Board of Canvassers Chair Tony Daunt. “All of us have said repeatedly that these are legal documents. You would not sign a mortgage that had this type of mistake in it.”
Democratic board members say their Republican counterparts overstepped their authority.
The deadlocked vote came after the so-called Promote the Vote initiative was also denied access to the ballot on a 2-2 vote.
The state Bureau of Elections had recommended the Board of State Canvassers certify both initiatives, saying they both turned in enough valid signatures.
Organizers for the Reproductive Freedom for All campaign say they are taking the fight to protect abortion rights to the Michigan Supreme Court.
"RFFA wants voters to decide whether to approve the proposal it created to restore the reproductive rights women lost when Roe v. Wade was overturned in June," organizers said in a press release.
For now, Michigan's 1931 law that opponents of abortion hoped would be triggered when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this summer remains blocked by court battles.
Stay tuned to WWJ Newsradio 950 for the latest details on this developing story.
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