Election Fraud and the Initiative Process: A Study of the 2006 Michigan Civil Rights Initiative

Abstract

In November 2006, Michigan voters endorsed a ballot initiative that would amend the State Constitution to eliminate the use of affirmative action in public universities. Apart from the substance of the petition, the campaign was mired in allegations that the individuals who collected signatures to place the initiative on the ballot fraudulently represented the initiative as supporting affirmative action, though in actuality the initiative intended to eliminate those programs in the state of Michigan. State courts and other entities in Michigan failed to intervene to address the allegations of fraud, and a federal district court concluded the campaign for the petition committed widespread fraud but declined to rule that the petitioners had violated any federal law.

This Article sets forth from the presumption that, regardless of the content of an initiative, the health and vitality of our direct democracy system demands that campaigns must be held to a standard of truthfulness and clarity when collecting signatures from registered voters to place their proposal on the ballot. In emphasizing the need for greater scrutiny of the signature gathering phase of the initiative process, it discusses several legal and legislative processes that states, litigants, and federal authorities can consider in developing adequate responses to voters' allegations of fraud and misrepresentation.