Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Michigan’s free newsletter here.As Michigan works out who (and what) will be on ballots this fall, one proposal is already set in stone: Should the state “convene a constitutional convention?”Proposal 1, as it will be known, pops up every 16 years and gives Michigan voters the chance to rewrite the state’s governing document. On its face, the proposed convention — sometimes referred to as a “con-con” — could functionally reset everything about Michigan’s laws. But what would it look like? And what would a yes vote actually do? Here’s everything you need to know about Proposal 1 in Michigan.What is a constitutional convention?A constitutional convention is exactly what it sounds like — a group of people convene to rewrite the state’s constitution. If voters were to approve Proposal 1, it wouldn’t immediately mean the Michigan Constitution is thrown in the trash. Instead, it would simply mean that a group of people get together to draft a new document that could one day, if approved by voters, serve as the new state constitution.How would a constitutional convention work in Michigan?In many ways, it would function a lot like the constitutional conventions from centuries ago that you learned about in history class (although probably fewer horses). A group of delegates would get together starting in 2027 and write a new draft of the state’s constitution. They would then present the draft to voters in another statewide election for their approval or rejection. If voters vote down the new constitution, the old one would simply stay in effect.Each state Senate and House district would send one delegate to the convention. Those delegates would be elected within six months of the certification of the 2026 election results (meaning campaigns would probably begin almost immediately). They would then convene on the first Tuesday in October — Oct. 5, 2027 — in Lansing.From there, delegates would set most of the rules on how things will work, including who is in charge of the convention and how much assistants get paid. Nothing can go to the voters without majority approval from the convention, and anything that is approved will have to go before voters “not less than 90 days” after the convention is over. There is no deadline for when the convention has to end. The last constitutional convention in Michigan — which started in 1962 — took nearly 10 months.A convention would put every part of the constitution in limbo. Voters have for many years approved smaller constitutional changes via ballot measure, but a convention would likely mean changing the whole thing.Why are we voting on this?The current Michigan Constitution, which was passed by voters in 1963 and put into effect in 1964, requires voters to weigh in on whether to call a constitutional convention every 16 years — a requirement that’s been in each state constitution since the very first in 1850. The current constitution is the fourth in Michigan’s history.Michigan isn’t the only state with the option for a constitutional convention. Across the country, 14 states have it appear on the ballot automatically like Michigan. Some others allow their legislature to put a constitutional convention on the ballot, while a few others allow residents to petition for one. Only eight states have no mechanism for a convention.Do constitutional convention ballot measures usually pass?No. In fact, since 2000, no state has passed a constitutional convention ballot measure. That includes Michigan’s most recent, in 2010, which failed 67% to 33%.Who is supporting it?Two key Republican legislators have gone on the record in support of the convention. State House Speaker Matt Hall said during last year’s Mackinac Policy Conference “they stuff so many things in this constitution,” referring to voter-approved measures such as marijuana legalization and the independent redistricting commission, which both passed in 2018.“Some of those proposals sounded good, but then had intentions that the public is frustrated about,” Hall said at the time.State Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt also said there was a lot he wanted to update in the constitution, such as changing how university boards are selected.However, according to state campaign finance records, there aren’t yet any official campaigns to support the ballot measure.Who is against it?A group known as Protect MI Constitution from Special Interests has formed to oppose a constitutional convention. The coalition comprises a number of voting rights groups, including Voters Not Politicians, the League of Women Voters of Michigan, and the American Civil Liberties UnionACLU of Michigan. It also includes unions (such as the Michigan AFL-CIO and Michigan Council of Carpenters & Millwrights), a number of business groups (including the Detroit Regional Chamber, Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and West Michigan Policy Forum), and the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.The group says that a full convention “opens a Pandora’s Box” that could have “potentially devastating consequences for Michigan citizens for decades to come.”As of late April, the campaign had raised more than $680,000, according to campaign finance reports. That includes $385,000 from The Fairness Project, a Washington, D.C.-based group “dedicated to advancing social and economic justice,” according to its website.What would a constitutional convention mean for voting in Michigan?It could mean any number of things, and the exact impacts are hard to predict before a new constitution has been proposed (and before any delegates are even selected). The first change could be fewer measures on Michiganders’ ballots. Many of the biggest changes to Michigan’s laws in the last few decades have been through constitutional amendment — including changes to legalize recreational marijuana, establish environmental conservation funds, codify access to abortion, and update election laws. A new constitution might not offer voters the chance to amend it as easily.It is also possible that Michigan’s fairly liberal election laws would change. Michiganders have voted repeatedly over the last decade to expand voting access, voting in 2018 to let people register to vote on Election Day and vote absentee without an excuse and in 2022 for early voting and the creation of a permanent absentee voter list. Those rights could be protected under a new constitution, or they could go away entirely. That is the tricky part of potentially reworking the constitution — it would be the entire document up for grabs, not just certain parts. It would, in many ways, depend on who controls the convention, which could be different from the makeup of the state legislature.A Republican-controlled convention would likely try to enshrine GOP priorities such as eliminating no-excuse absentee voting — a bill proposed by five Republicans in late June — and requiring documentary proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. A Democratic-controlled convention, meanwhile, might codify the Michigan Voting Rights Act into the new constitution. That proposal aims to fill in the gaps left by the federal Voting Rights Act, blocking laws that could discriminate against voters based on race and requiring ballot materials to be made available in languages other than English.Hayley Harding is a reporter for Votebeat based in Michigan. Contact Hayley at hharding@votebeat.org.
