Delivering signed petitions in February.
The voters of Michigan will get a say on the state's emergency financial manager law. In a 4-3 decision, the state supreme court ruled today that the petition drive met the requirements and should be certified for the November election. That petition had been challenged by a group based in the office of a member of the elections board that rejected it. The challenge alleged that the type on one line of the petition was not 14 point. The court ruling is remarkably technical (pdf) -- font nerds, skip to page 18 for the time of your lives -- and the most exciting part might be this:
In the present case, plaintiff used 14-point Calibri font for its petition heading, as attested to by plaintiff's printer.
Today's ruling means that the emergency manager law will go on ice, after it's officially certified, until the referendum this fall. That has large and potentially confusing implications for the towns and school districts the state has taken over under the law.
What happens to the Muskegon Heights school district, which a new emergency manager just converted to a charter system run by a private company? Who's in charge in Benton Harbor, where elected officials have been stripped of all power and a blizzard of recall attempts is underway? Do Detroit schools have to keep their new ceiling of 61 kids in a class, as ordered by the emergency manager? For that matter, does Detroit still have to slash its city workforce under the consent agreement they signed to avoid getting an emergency manager?
However the answers turn out, the campaign to repeal the emergency manager law can now begin. By dragging the matter out this long – the petition could have been certified back in April -- supporters of the law have taken away weeks that the repeal effort could scarcely afford to lose. The repeal side is trails by 10 points in the polls, but there are twice that many undecided voters for their campaign to try to reach.
Leave a Comment:
Where is the Michigan ACLU?
Damn straight! And where is DOJ?
Dear Michiganers,
Please stop allowing yourselves to be as dumbed down and divided as those in Wisconsin! You have a choice now, real representation or dictatorship! When the dog-whistle about freedom & liberty is blown (guns, health-care, etc.) you bark - well now it really is about your freedoms ARE being attacked! Vote down this draconian hi-jacking of your democracy and start leading the way to real democracy!
Booyah!
MI now has the choice of claiming the glory of being the first state to truly lose our democracy. Many others are running a close second.
Next nerd Question: The Board of State Canvassers: more malfeasance or misfeasance? Just askin'
They will lose it. they dont have the brains.
Who doesn't have the brains? I don't understand your comment. (Does that mean I don't have the brains?) Please explain.
comments like yours are why these idiotic politicians feel they can get away with the dumbing down of Americans. Keep on voting for Republicans and see what other rights they have in store to take away! It's not the Dems pushing this kind of malarky!
@maloney I think you have it backwards! Its not the republicans taking away your rights idiot! Its the democrats..Do you want the government running your life? Keep voting on Obama and watch him socialize our nation and destroy our constitution!
Strange, I thought the 14 point law was enforced for Circuit Court Appeals only; they have a local law? I'm not a lawyer but did win a 9th Cir. Appeal one time.
It's about time that Snyder gets knocked down a bit. I don't know one person that supports him or his dictatorship in our state.
I can't be the only one that chuckled when reading the Michigan Supreme Court discussing whether the letters were just the right height.
Yea Michigan Supreme Court - What took you so long?
Michigan citizens need to have some say in this! I know that many of us have a lot to learn about the negative effects overtaking our Democaracy by the EM law, but I'm hoping, that in the few months left, more will learn of the devastating consequences that follow when our State governement completely ignores the votes of our local citizens.
The end rejults NEVER justifies the means!!! NEVER!!!
this is good news
I was AMAZED this law stood as long as it did. This is the United States. A Governor can not simply void the votes of citizens of a city or town and decide to appoint a manager who can do anything with no controls.
However, the story makes an important point. How much damage and/or changes have already been made by emergency managers and what happens now? I fail to understand why it took so long after the emergency manager law was sign for this to happen. Are all emergency manager's changes are invalid. Now? The elected officials may be restored to power? What a mess!
Reading the Detroit Free Press account, just a mess and a field day for lawyers. Meanwhile, cities like Detroit still need to survive.
Michigan has had an Emergency Manager law for 20 years. If it gets voted down in November the only alternative left for troubled schools and communities will be Chapter 9 bankruptcy. That's only until the Legislature writes and approves a new Emergency Manager law.
mgtom, the law isn't going away completely, it's just going back to the way it was under Granholm. That means there can be Emergency Managers, but mayors and city councils won't lose their power, and assets won't get sold off.
Thank you Rachel for all of your support against the tranny we are facing, but we are not celebrating yet. We are going to lose anyway. GOP is too power and crafty.
This is not over yet!!! MichiganGOP are not whimps. We believe the michigan supreme court was going to stall until after August 27 ( I think it is) which is the deadline to get the repeal on the November ballot. However, the matter was reported to Attorney General Eric Holder (yesterday I believe) and he was asked to act. The Michigan Supreme Court then decided they had better act to put water on the fire, i.e. to let the measure show up on the ballot.
However, the the GOP has another attack plan. Governor Snyder has already called for the legislature to draft a new Emergency Manager bill to be addressed when the legislature returns for one day on August 15. It should take no time for a new law to go on the books (with "immediate effect" of course). So they will not care that PA 4 is repealed in November. And they won't even have to spend money to fight the repeal. Instead a new law will be pushed through and we will be back to square one. We are not celebrating. Gongyer is an excellent resource for political news in Lansing.
I t is a shame that we have to go over and over with this REPUBLICAN disrespect for the rights and safety of Americans and people in general. Being in control MUST have gone to their heads and they can't stop or realize what they do HURTS EVERYONE. IF THEY DO KNOW, THEN IT IS EVEN A MORE DANGEROUS SITUATION THAT HAS TO BE ADDRESSED.