Political Realism meets Abortion Rights

or the Right tries to subvert democracy in the Wolverine State

Referendums, part of the political trifecta of democratic reforms from the Progressive era¹, has gone from the boon of conservatism in the 1980s² to its bane in the 2020s.

The Kansas abortion amendment vote was a harbinger of how badly conservatives were going to do politically on abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned.³ That amendment was voted down in reliably red Kansas 59%-41%.

For the nihilists in the GOP, abortion politics has been met with scrubbing campaign websites of pro-life messaging⁴, but quietly assuring anti-abortion forces of their fealty.

Which brings us to the State of Michigan. Voters there wanted to put abortion rights on the ballot in the Wolverine State and filed a petition for a referendum, collected signatures, and prepared to put the stamp of popular will on the laws of Michigan.

Michigan’s Republican-controlled Election Board (called the Board of Canvassers) rejected the petition to make abortion rights part of the state constitution. The contention was that spacing errors in the text of the proposed amendment confused the voters signing the petition.

In order to amend the Michigan state constitution, a petition needs 10% of the vote of cast for governor in the prior election. That threshold requirement is 425,059 signatures for 2022.⁵ Reproductive Freedom for All gathered 753,759 signatures — just shy of 18% of the Michiganders who voted for governor in 2018.

Wordsmithing kudos here — “reproductive freedom” is better messaging than “abortion rights,” especially since Griswold v Connecticut⁶ is likely in danger after the Dobbs ruling.

The State Supreme Court, in a 5-2 ruling, ordered the Reproductive Freedom For All petition to be placed on the ballot in November.

Michigan Justice Bridget McCormack wrote this as part of her blistering concurrence.

“They (the Board of Canvassers) would disenfranchise millions of Michiganders not because they believe the many thousands of Michiganders who signed the proposal were confused by it, but because they think they have identified a technicality that allows them to do so, a game of gotcha gone very bad.

What a sad marker of the times.⁷”

The words of Michigan Justice Brian Zahra, one of the dissenters, are particulary troublesome.

“Justice BERNSTEIN (writing for the majority) advocates that all doubt should be resolved in favor of allowing the people to vote. While this position certainly has populist appeal, it ignores the requirements of our election law, which is predisposed against granting ballot access where the Board of State Canvassers fails to grant certification.⁸”

Democracy only counts for the political Right when they expect to win. When they expect to lose, they simply decertify it.

1. The other two are initiative and recall.

2. https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/24/us/rise-of-voter-initiated-referendums-the-right-hones-a-tool-of-liberals.html

3. https://www.npr.org/sections/2022-live-primary-election-race-results/2022/08/02/1115317596/kansas-voters-abortion-legal-reject-constitutional-amendment

4. https://www.axios.com/2022/08/31/republicans-midterms

5. https://ballotpedia.org/Signature_requirements_for_ballot_measures_in_Michigan

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griswold_v._Connecticut

7. https://www.courts.michigan.gov/4a5838/siteassets/case-documents/uploads/sct/public/orders/164760_28_01.pdf

8. Ibid.