Group behind effort so as to add LGBT protections to civil rights law appeals signature rejection to Michigan Supreme Court docket

By Jason Wilson Last updated Aug 5, 2021

The group behind an initiative to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes under Michigan Civil Rights is appealing a state committee decision that they lacked the signatures to proceed.

In an appeal filed with the Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday, Fair and Equal Michigan argued that the Board of State Canvassers should have taken into account the roughly 20,000 signatures that were electronically collected at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lawyers for the group also argue that the Bureau of Elections is required to post written rules for dealing with petition signatures, citing concerns about how state election officials verified the signatures of Fair and Equal Michigan.

“This is a landmark lawsuit for citizens and we want our supporters and people across Michigan to understand what is at stake,” Trevor Thomas, co-chair of Fair and Equal Michigan, said in a statement.

“We have raised serious concerns that go well beyond our fight for equal rights. The outcome of Fair and Equal Michigan’s appeal to the Supreme Court can have a profound impact on how election campaigns in the state progress. We do not take this decision to submit these lightly and do so with the deepest respect and love for our constitution and our great state. We believe there is more that brings us together than forcing us apart. That’s why our initiative includes Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. Our unifying statement: Every Michigander should have the same chance of success. For us we are not just another petition campaign, this is our humanity. “

The Michigan Board of State Canvassers concluded on July 26th that Fair and Equal Michigan has not collected the 340,047 minimum valid signatures required to continue the state’s citizen-led process.

Related: Michigan Board of Directors Denies Petition to Incorporate LGBTQ Protection into Civil Rights Act, Organizers Vow to Appeal

Bureau of Elections officials initially estimated that only 298,943 of Fair and Equal Michigan’s signatures were valid, based on a random sample of 502 signatures, well below the 340,047 signatures required for the election. A second review of the sample, triggered by concerns from Fair and Equal Michigan, revised that estimate to 263,460 valid signatures.

All four board members finally agreed to the recommendation of the presidium not to certify the initiative.

The judicial challenge could lead to a broader decision on whether the government’s obligation to collect signatures for electoral initiatives allows electronic signatures. The group also alleges that the contenders were inconsistent in their reviews of the recent petitions.

“Both the Board of Directors and the Election Bureau of the State Department exceeded their legal authority and replaced their own subjective judgment and reliance on previous practices for the express language enacted by the Legislature in ways that were inconsistent with recent legislative edicts and judicial precedents “, Fair and Equal Michigan argued in the complaint filing.

“The Presidium – without enacting any applicable rules or procedures – arbitrarily excluded thousands of petition sheets and tens of thousands of signatures from qualified and registered voters for reasons beyond those enumerated by the legislature in December 2018. In addition, the Presidium made selections a sampling mechanism for the Fair and Equal Michigan petition without providing a justification for the selection of this mechanism over other mechanisms also provided for in their informal guidelines. “

Election Bureau Director Jonathan Brater said during the Board of State Canvassers’ meeting that the group’s electronic signatures were not included in the review as the state does not currently have a process for acceptance or review. Non-electronic signatures that were deemed invalid in the sample were in line with previous practice, he told board members.

“I have no idea what the rationale behind saying that signatures on this petition were treated harsher,” he said at the time. “We applied the same standards that we always have, these signatures.”

The Fair and Equal Michigan initiative would add sexual orientation and gender identity or expression to the list of safeguards contained in the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. The law currently prohibits discrimination based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, gender, height, weight, marital status or marital status when it comes to employment, home and other public housing.