Over 562,000 Signatures Filed for Michigan Campaign Finance Reform Ballot Proposal
Campaign organizers submit over 562,000 signatures seeking to ban utility and contractor political contributions in Michigan elections this November.
LANSING, MICHIGAN — Organizers with Michiganders for Money Out of Politics submitted over 562,000 signatures Wednesday to the Michigan Bureau of Elections, seeking to place a proposal on the November ballot that would ban utility companies and government contractors from making campaign contributions.
The signature drive exceeded the approximately 425,000 valid signatures required to qualify for the ballot. Leaders held a press conference outside the Richard H. Austin building before officially submitting the petitions.
“This systemic corruption that we’re fighting is a bipartisan problem that today we meet with a nonpartisan solution, and the signatures that we turn in today represent the will of 562,068 Michigan voters,” said Sean McBrearty, an environmental activist who serves as co-chair of Michiganders for Money Out of Politics.
Bipartisan Support Emphasized
Both McBrearty and Christy McGillivray, the other co-chair and executive director of Voters Not Politicians, stressed the nonpartisan nature of the campaign. They said volunteer signature-gatherers ranged in political position from MAGA Republicans to Democratic Socialists.
“Here’s the truth,” McGillivray said during the press conference. “The corrupting influence of money has kept our state government from serving us. Politicians have been serving their mega donors instead of voters.”
Focus on Corporate Political Spending
If approved by voters in November, the proposal would prohibit utility companies and state contractors from contributing to political campaigns. The initiative aims to reduce what organizers describe as the influence of corporate money in Michigan politics.
The Bureau of Elections will now verify the signatures to determine if the proposal qualifies for the November ballot. Campaign organizers expressed confidence that they submitted well above the minimum threshold needed.
The Michiganders for Money Out of Politics coalition includes volunteers from across the political spectrum who gathered signatures throughout Michigan communities over recent months. The group emphasized that campaign finance reform has drawn support from voters regardless of their partisan affiliations.
