Yes
89-508: No The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative ( MCRI ), or Proposal 2 (Michigan 06–2), was a ballot initiative in the U.S. state of Michigan that passed into Michigan Constitutional law by a 58% to 42% margin on November 7, 2006, according to results officially certified by the Michigan Secretary of State . By Michigan law, the Proposal became law on December 22, 2006. MCRI was
178-513: A citizens' legislative initiative for tougher blasphemy laws in Poland with close to 400,000 (Higher than the 100,000 needed) signatures to parliament. According to Article 74 of the Romanian Constitution, groups of at least 100,000 Romanian Citizens with suffrage that reside in at least one quarter of all the counties and with a minimum 5,000 signatures per county have the right to send
267-537: A discharge petition on January 10, 1938, when it was defeated in the House by a vote of 209 to 188, short of the two-thirds vote required for its passage. Unsuccessful attempts to get initiatives have nevertheless occurred, but since the proposals were bills, not constitutional amendments, no initiative could probably have lawfully been voted on notwithstanding the bills' passage. The first attempt to get national ballot initiatives occurred in 1907 when House Joint Resolution 44
356-527: A " ballot measure ", "initiative measure", or "proposition". The United States has no initiative process at the national level, but the initiative is in use at the level of state government in 24 states and the District of Columbia , and is also in common use at the local government level. Article I, Section I of the United States Constitution vests "all legislative powers herein granted" to
445-467: A 50–41% lead. In another Free Press — Local 4 Michigan poll conducted by Selzer & Co. Inc. of Des Moines between October 8 to October 11 of 643 likely voters, it was shown that 41% were in favor of the MCRI, while 44% opposed the measure, and 15% of the voter poll were undecided. The poll had a margin of error of 3.9% making the poll a statistical dead-heat. Another poll, from mid-September 2006, showed MCRI
534-489: A Citizens' Initiative which must be considered by the legislative body (Initiatives that address fiscal or international matters are not covered by this right). If the initiative concerns changing the Constitution, Article 150 of the Constitution states that the group must include at least 500,000 Romanian Citizens with suffrage who reside in at least half of all the counties, with a minimum of 20,000 per county. Article 151 of
623-570: A citizen initiative aimed at banning consideration of race, color, sex, or religion in admission to colleges, jobs, and other publicly funded institutions – effectively prohibiting some affirmative action by public institutions based on those factors. The Proposal's constitutionality was challenged in federal court, but its constitutionality was ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. On 21 March 2008, Judge David M. Lawson of
712-469: A committee. Any petition which reaches 10,000 signatures triggers a response from the government and those which reach 100,000 signatures will almost always require the government to consider holding a debate (with some exceptions, such as whether a similar issue has been debated recently, or a debate for that issue is scheduled) on the matter in the House of Commons. Only British Citizens or individuals resident in
801-509: A direct proposal for a new law or of a motion to initiate the drafting of a new law by the relevant government department, as well as present reasons for doing so. A single initiative may not contain proposals on more than one specific legislative issue. Proposed initiatives are published on a website maintained by the Finnish Ministry of Justice, where they may be electronically signed; signatures are also collected on paper. If an initiative
890-649: A lawsuit in Washtenaw Circuit Court , asking a judge to order the University of Michigan to immediately comply with Proposal 2, and abandon their affirmative action programs. The case was resolved on January 29 when Eric Russell, whom the Center for Individual Rights was representing voluntarily withdrew the lawsuit. Jan. 9–10: BAMN held a press conference at Cass Tech High School in Detroit announcing that their appeal of
979-600: A lawsuit to delay implementation of Prop 2 until July 2007. In Detroit, Matt Allen, a spokesman for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said the city illegally "will continue doing business as it has been" in spite of the passage of the statewide initiative. Another lawsuit has been filed in federal court by the NAACP and the ACLU to block the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative. On January 4, 2007, the Center for Individual Rights filed
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#17328588156841068-447: A petition calling for United States President Donald Trump 's state visit to UK to be cancelled. In New Zealand a vote initiated by the public is called a citizen initiated referendum . These are non-binding referendums on any issue in which proponents have submitted a petition to Parliament signed by ten percent of all registered electors within 12 months. Horace Sheffield III Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1157-410: A petition supporting affirmative action." However, because the case was not decided on these grounds, this statement is legally characterized as "dicta"—judicial commentary that is not relevant to the outcome of a case. Tarnow also found the testimony of Jennifer Gratz (MCRI's executive director) in the court to be evasive and misleading. His stated reason for refusing an injunction to remove the MCRI from
1246-434: A popular initiative depends on the exact wording. A direct initiative places an initiative measure directly on the ballot for voters to pass or reject. The measure is not submitted to the legislature for support first. An indirect initiative is voted on by a legislature after sufficient signatures are collected from the voting population. In most areas the measure is submitted to a subsequent popular vote only if amended by
1335-405: A popular vote (referendum) rests with the local assembly. A citizens' initiative referendum was proposed by the yellow vests movement . Citizens are able to submit a law project to the parliament through the "Référendum d'Initiative Partagée"; they can ask for a referendum if they meet the 185 deputies requirement and the signatures of at least 10% of the voting population. All German states have
1424-588: A popular vote of 23,816 to 16,483. Oregon was the second state to adopt and did so in 1902, when the Oregon Legislative Assembly adopted it by an overwhelming majority. The "Oregon System", as it was at first known, subsequently spread to many other states, and became one of the signature reforms of the Progressive Era (1890s–1920s). Almost every state currently in the union utilizes some sort of State Question or Initiative. A contemporary issue that
1513-526: A proposition sent to congress or local legislative body for action. The rejected Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (TCE) included a limited indirect initiative right (Article I-46(4)). The proposal of introducing the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) was that 1,000,000 citizens, from minimal numbers of different member states, could invite the executive body of the European Union (EU),
1602-501: A significant hurdle for people to navigate. The treaty also makes it clear that right of initiative should not be confused with the right to petition , particularly since a petition is directed to Parliament while a citizens' initiative is directed to the Commission; whereas a petition is a method of remonstrance, usually focussing on perceived infringements of European Law, an initiative is a grassroots proposal for new legislation. In 2013
1691-528: A truthful response about their intended vote for fear that the interviewer will judge them. In July 2005, the Michigan State Board of Canvassers declined to certify the MCRI proposal for Michigan's November 2006 ballot after hearing allegations that a significant number of signatures were obtained by telling supporters of affirmative action that the petition was likewise, in support of affirmative action. Counter-allegations were made by MCRI supporters that
1780-415: Is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative , the proposition is put directly to a plebiscite or referendum , also called a popular initiated referendum or citizen-initiated referendum . In an indirect initiative , the proposed measure is first referred to the legislature, and then if the proposed law
1869-574: Is able to attract the signatures of a total of 50,000 citizens within six months, it is forwarded to the Finnish Parliament for consideration; otherwise, it will lapse. The Parliament treats citizens' initiatives according to normal parliamentary procedure, that is, they are debated and considered in committees and they may also be amended or altered; the Parliament is not restricted to passing or rejecting them as they are. The first initiative to pass
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#17328588156841958-517: Is also used at the cantonal and communal level in Switzerland (all cantons , all communes where the direct democratic citizens' participation originates); many cantons allow initiatives to enact regular non-constitutional law, but the federal system does not. If the necessary number of supporters is reached, the initiative will be put to a plebiscite about two or three years later; the delay helps prevent short-term political moods from getting into
2047-509: Is commonly decided through this method is the legalization of marijuana . People's initiative to propose amendments to the constitution is enshrined in the 1987 Philippine Constitution under Article XVII Section 2, which states: Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of
2136-435: Is rejected by the legislature, the government may be forced to put the proposition to a referendum. The proposition may be on federal level law, statute , constitutional amendment , charter amendment, local ordinance , obligate the executive or legislature to consider the subject by submitting it to the order of the day. In contrast, a popular referendum that allows voters only to repeal existing legislation. The hurdles
2225-512: The 1964 Civil Rights Act and the "Equal Protection" clause of the 14th Amendment that forbids the United States or any state from denying "equal protection of the law" to any citizen as models for the proposal. It is a near copy of similar initiatives passed in California ( Proposition 209 ) and Washington ( Initiative 200 ). In 2004, When the first attempt was made to place the measure on
2314-495: The Congress of the United States . Establishing a national initiative procedure would likely require an amendment to the Constitution , which would under Article V require two-thirds of both houses of Congress or the application of two-thirds of the state legislatures to propose, and three-fourths of all state legislatures (or conventions in three-fourths of the states ) to ratify. The Constitution itself, pursuant to Article VII ,
2403-536: The Constitutional Convention considered Dáil electoral reform, members voted 83:16 in favour of allowing "citizens' initiatives" in general, 80:19 to allow them specifically for legislation, and 78:17 to allow them for constitutional amendments . In April 2015, the Fine Gael–Labour government rejected the recommendations on the basis that there is sufficient public involvement in legislation through
2492-555: The European Commission , to consider any proposal "on matters where citizens consider that a legal act of the Union is required for the purpose of implementing the Constitution." The precise mechanism had not been agreed upon. Critics underlined the weakness of this right of initiative, which did not ultimately entail any vote or referendum. A similar scheme under the same name, European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), has been put forward in
2581-588: The Oath of Allegiance . By May 1928 Fianna Fáil claimed 96,000 signatures and attempted to have the petition laid before the Dáil (lower house). The motion was deferred, ostensibly to allow the Dáil procedure committee to define the method of dealing with such petitions. Before the committee could meet, the Cumann na nGaedheal government rushed through an amendment deleting Article 48 of
2670-607: The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan dismissed a case filed by plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of Proposal 2. Judge Lawson held that Proposal 2 does not violate the United States Constitution . The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit overturned MCRI on July 1, 2011. Judges R. Guy Cole Jr. and Martha Craig Daughtrey said that "Proposal 2 reorders
2759-412: The 24 June 1999 law, citizens wishing to launch an initiative must create a committee of at least 15 members, which becomes a legal person . The committee must prepare the draft bill and collect at least 100,000 signatures (Article 2). Under Article 12 of the law, if there is "justified doubt regarding the authenticity of the required number of signatures of citizens, then within 14 days of the lodging of
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2848-451: The 50,000 mark did so already a few months after the "kansalaisaloite" first became possible. The initiative demanded the ending of fur industry in Finland, but failed to pass in Parliament. The first initiative to be accepted by the Parliament was the citizens' initiative known in Finland as "Equal Marriages Law", which is also known by its campaign slogan, #Tahdon2013 (#IDo2013). This initiative
2937-506: The Constitution also states that any amendments brought to it, must be also approved by means of a National Referendum. The federal popular initiative was included in the Swiss Federal Constitution in 1891, permitting a certain number of citizens (currently 100,000 signatures within 18 months ) to make a request to amend a constitutional article, or even to introduce a new article into the constitution. The right of initiative
3026-505: The Constitution. Citizens' legislative initiatives are a constitutional right in Poland, defined in Article 118, paragraph 2, of the 1997 Polish Constitution . The paragraph gives legislative initiative to any group of at least 100,000 citizens with voting rights to the Sejm , the lower house of Polish parliament. The detailed procedure is defined in a law dated 24 June 1999. Under Article 5 of
3115-506: The ECI evolves into a full initiative or remains in its present state of a de facto petition. Since 1 March 2012, Finnish citizens with suffrage have had the constitutional right to send a citizens' initiative (Finnish: kansalaisaloite , Swedish: medborgarinitiativ ) to the Parliament of Finland . An initiative must begin with at least five citizens as sponsors, and it must consist either of
3204-566: The Equal Justice Society and more than a dozen other organizations announced that they had filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, urging the court to strike down Michigan's Proposal 2 as unconstitutional. The brief authors argue that Proposal 2 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution by creating procedural barriers for people of color. On 16 November 2012,
3293-723: The Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the First Amendment as affirmed by the Supreme Court decision, Grutter v. Bollinger . That same day, about 2,000 students gathered on the diag at the University of Michigan where University President Mary Sue Coleman gave a speech in which she promised U-M would go to court to defend its efforts to promote diversity, despite the majority of Michigan’s electorate voting against affirmative action. Two weeks later, on November 21, Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell said he
3382-679: The Federal Appeals Court decision overturning the delay of the ban on affirmative action. The next day, after placing holds on admissions, the University of Michigan announced that they will comply with the ban on affirmative action. Hours later, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens responded to BAMN's appeal of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision overturning the delay of Proposal 2's implementation and ordered all briefs due by January 17. U-M, Wayne State, MSU, and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm all filed briefs in support. Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox urged Stevens to deny
3471-560: The Federal Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held the amendment unconstitutional on the grounds that it "reorders the political process in Michigan to place special burdens on minority interests," and thus violates the 14th Amendment. Attorney General Bill Schuette then announced that he would appeal the ruling and ask to have the case re-heard "en banc," by all active judges rather than a panel of three. On Thursday, November 3, 2011,
3560-413: The MCRI had committed widespread and systematic racially targeted fraud in their petition campaign to secure ballot access. The proponents of the initiative issued a multi-page refutation of the report, including a notation that it was never signed by the commission and alleging misconduct by the Commission itself. In September 2006, after opponents filed a federal lawsuit against the MCRI alleging fraud in
3649-541: The Michigan Civil Rights Commission, which had previously fought against Proposal 2, issued a report at the behest of the Governor, taking the position that Proposal 2 did not eliminate "all" affirmative action. In their summary of a 63-page report, Linda Parker, chair of the commission, now agreed with Proposal 2 advocates, "With this Report, the Commission and Department confirm that Proposal 2 does not mean
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3738-568: The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals sitting en banc upheld the earlier ruling that the Initiative is unconstitutional. Supporters announced their intention to appeal to the Supreme Court. On March 25, 2013, the Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari, agreeing to hear the case. Arguments were heard during the Supreme Court term beginning in October 2013. On April 22, 2014, the Supreme Court of
3827-542: The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Judge Lawson's ruling and force the universities to adhere to this amendment, to the Michigan Constitution, immediately. On December 29, a 3-judge panel of the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals lifted Judge Lawson's injunction granting the 3 universities the July 1 implementation delay and ordered them to implement Proposal 2 immediately. The city of Lansing has also filed
3916-445: The UK are allowed to start a petition or be a signatory. Petitions can be initiated via a specialist website, which also contains guidance on when petitions will, and will not, be debated. On occasion, some petitions which are signed by fewer than 100,000 people are still debated. Examples of issues which have been debated in parliament via this system are various issues surrounding Brexit and
4005-416: The United States upheld the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative as Constitutional. On Friday, February 16, 2007, the University of Michigan released admissions data showing that, in a period that includes the time after Proposal 2 was implemented, minority admissions of primarily lower test scores declined 25% from the same period a year before. The data also show that in the period immediately before Proposal 2
4094-525: The Vote No Takeover, AFSCME Locals 207, 312, and 2920, and UAW 2200 as well as several individual voters. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm submitted an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs. On August 29, 2006, the case was decided with Judge Tarnow, a Democratic judicial appointee, refusing to remove the initiative from the ballot. However, Judge Tarnow declared that "MCRI engaged in systematic voter fraud by telling voters that were signing
4183-553: The aforementioned "Equal Marriages Law" and the "Motherhood Law" from 2015/16 . A limited, indirect form of local initiative was added to the French Constitution (article 72-1, référendum d'initiative locale ) on 28 March 2003 as part of decentralization reforms. However, the only power these "local referendum initiatives" confer on citizens is the ability to add propositions to their local assembly's meeting agenda. The decision as to whether to submit citizen propositions to
4272-531: The allegations were fabricated and that the Board of Canvassers' decision-process itself was being improperly influenced by politics because Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer was "giving orders" to the two members of the Board appointed by Democrats, and backed up by the linked videotape shot by MCRI Treasurer and publisher Chetly Zarko. Despite the deadlocked vote by the Canvassers and their inability to certify
4361-456: The anti-affirmative action petition in Detroit telling signers that it was in support of affirmative action. Proponents of the MCRI claim that the initiative will make illegal only those programs and policies, affecting university admissions, public employment, and contracting, that grant "preferential treatment" based on gender, race, or ethnicity. These claims were disputed by some opponents who cite California 's Proposition 209 , alleging that
4450-603: The ballot was the MCRI "targeted all Michigan voters for deception without regard to race." He ruled that the Voting Rights Act was not violated because it "is not a general anti-voter fraud statute, but rather prohibits practices which result in unequal access to the political process because of race." Luke Massie, national co-chair of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights & Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary ( BAMN ) announced that
4539-480: The ballot, Gregory Creswell was MCRI spokesperson, volunteer coordinator, and an organizer. In a pre-kick-off announcement, he articulated some reasons he was working for the amendment: "I believe it is wrong for the government and politicians to dictate to an employer who they must or must not hire, just as I believe Jim Crow is immoral and just as I believe apartheid in South Africa was immoral," said Creswell. At
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#17328588156844628-581: The collection of petition signatures, a federal judge in Detroit found that some voter fraud had in fact taken place but denied an injunction to have the initiative barred. Oral arguments in a federal lawsuit charging MCRI and the State of Michigan with violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were heard on August 17, 2006, with attorneys presenting their closing arguments on the morning of August 18, 2006. The case
4717-496: The commission had previously alleged in its June 2006 fraud-allegation report that petitioners should have used the words "affirmative action" in their presentation.. Several groups have challenged the constitutional amendment since its passage. On November 8, 2006, BAMN called a press conference announcing that they had launched a second lawsuit against Proposal 2 in conjunction with United for Equality and Affirmative Action and Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, claiming that it violates both
4806-428: The constitution. The parliament and government will both issue their official opinions on whether they recommend voting for or against the proposed amendment, and these opinions will be published. The parliament may also pass an alternative amendment suggestion which will also be included on the ballot; in this case, the voters cast two votes, one for whether or not they want an amendment, and one for which one they want,
4895-591: The controversial board meeting, Mitchell resigned from the board and O'Connor was charged with contempt of court; however the charges were dismissed after O'Connor sought disclosure of improper communications between the chief judge and the Republican leadership of the Legislature. O'Connor later testified against the MCRI at the August 17 federal court hearing, relaying how he had witnessed two African-American women circulating
4984-548: The earlier ruling that the MCRI was unconstitutional. Schuette then announced his intention to appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action on March 25, 2013. The Court heard arguments in the case on October 15, 2013, and the Court ruled on April 22, 2014 "that there is no authority ... for the judiciary to set aside Michigan laws that commit to
5073-402: The effort was postponed till the 2006 cycle due to time constraints. During the early debate about the proposal shortly following the collection of signatures (508,282 submitted January 6, 2005), the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, a governmental body charged with investigating civil rights violations in the state of Michigan, concluded an investigation of MCRI and asserted that supporters of
5162-421: The end of equal opportunity or diversity in Michigan,". The Report explicitly cites the difference between "preferential treatment" and "affirmative action". Proponent of Proposal 2, Chetly Zarko, argued that this "flip-flop" by the Commission not only proved MCRI was correct all along about the legal issues and difference, but that it disproved the commission's report alleging "fraud" in signature-collection since
5251-527: The establishment of the European Communities in 1957. This, however, does require that the signatures come from a "significant number" of Member States. It is suggested that this significant number will need to be around a quarter of member states, with at least 1/500 of the citizens in those member states supporting the initiative. With the variety of languages within the European Union, this creates
5340-617: The government held the first referendum under this legislation, in September 2011 on the subject of repealing the Harmonized Sales Tax . Details of its use in BC are available on the Elections BC website. In the United States , a popular vote on a measure is referred to as a referendum only when aiming at allowing or repealing an act passed by a state legislature. An initiative may be called
5429-403: The initiatives have proven to be a useful tool to force the government to concentrate on subjects that will otherwise remain hidden from the politic, lowering the distance between the government and the citizens. While there is no mandate for a referendum following directly from such an initiative, the UK government has a system whereby citizens can set up online petitions, which are considered by
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#17328588156845518-615: The injunction. On January 19, the Supreme Court denied BAMN's appeal without comment. On Thursday, February 15, BAMN submitted 2,000 petitions to the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan demanding that there be no drop in minority enrollment. The following Tuesday, on February 20, the Michigan Student Assembly , the elected student government of U-M passed a resolution demanding that there be no drop in underrepresented minority student enrollment. On Friday, July 1, 2011,
5607-572: The language of that proposal outlawed "all affirmative action policies" and programs, and MCRI's language is nearly identical. Proponents counter this argument by arguing that while MCRI is nearly identical to California's amendment, neither MCRI or 209 outlawed "all" or any "affirmative action." They point to programs such as California's use of socio-economic indicators, outreach targeted at the 150 lowest scoring high schools, and traditional anti-discrimination enforcement as some among many race-neutral types of "affirmative action". On March 7, 2007, however,
5696-548: The legislature. An agenda setting initiative is a measure submitted by petition to a legislature for consideration. The legislature may choose to approve or reject the proposal without a public vote. This form or initiative is more common than a legally binding direct or indirect initiative. In Brazil, a popular law initiative requires two conditions be met before it is sent to the National Congress: signatures from at least 1% of national registered voters and at least 0.3% of
5785-679: The list of signatures, the Marshal of the Sejm must request the National Electoral Commission to verify the signatures. The electoral commission has 21 days to carry out the verification. One of the best known citizens' initiatives in Poland is the pair of 2015/2016 anti-abortion and pro-abortion initiatives which were accompanied by the Black Protest marches coordinated by women's rights groups. In October 2022, United Poland submitted
5874-464: The members left the room adjourning until 2pm. Chanting, "They say Jim Crow! We say hell no!," the emotion-surged crowd of students continued until a table was overturned in the commotion and the Lansing police came in to control the situation. Opponents of MCRI labeled their own conduct civil disobedience while proponents argued it crossed the line into outright violence and intentional intimidation. Video of
5963-527: The now ratified European Lisbon Treaty (which entered into force on 1 December 2009), enabling a limited indirect initiative right. It follows very similar rules to the ones outlined in the European Constitution, requiring the signatures of 1,000 000 European Nationals. These citizens would thereby obtain the same right to request the Commission to submit a legislative proposal as the Council has had since
6052-441: The original one from the initiative or the one introduced in parliament, in case a majority decides for amending. A citizen-proposed change to the constitution in Switzerland at the national level needs to achieve both a majority of the national popular vote and a majority of the canton-wide vote to pass. The vast majority of national initiatives introduced since 1891, when the system started, have failed to receive voter support. But
6141-465: The people allowed to vote from each of at least five of the 27 federal unities (the 26 states plus the federal district). If both conditions are met, Congress is obliged to discuss and vote on holding the initiative. The Canadian province of British Columbia has a citizen initiative law known as the Recall and Initiative Act. The original proposal was put to voters in a referendum held in October 1991 and
6230-670: The petition as a result, in October of the same year the Michigan Court of Appeals ordered the board to certify the petitions. On December 14, 2005, in Lansing, Michigan , while attempting to comply with that court order to certify the petitions, the board's four members were scheduled to make the final vote to certify the petitions for the November ballot. However, the meeting attended by hundreds of Detroit high school students. The crowd began to shout "No voter fraud," until they became so loud that
6319-475: The petition has to meet vary between countries, typically a certain number of signatures by registered voters , to prevent a flood of frivolous measures on the ballot. It's been argued that a signature hurdle does not always determine popular support since the signature hurdle can be achieved through hiring a professional company to gather signatures. Instead of a signature hurdle a state-sponsored public opinion poll as hurdle has been proposed. The success of
6408-508: The petition kick-off meeting affirmative action advocate Rev. Horace Sheffield III clashed with Creswell after being denied entry to the event. Creswell's rivalry with Sheffield dated back to 2000 when Creswell criticized a protest outside the Detroit Police headquarters, following a couple shootings of suspects by police. After some early court challenges, a state appeals court permitted MCRI petitioners to continue gathering signatures, but
6497-560: The petitions committee and the pre-legislative scrutiny process. Article 48 of the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State gave a right of initiative: if more than 50,000 voters demanded a change in law, the Oireachtas had two years to enact it, failing which 75,000 voters could petition for a referendum . The only attempt to invoke this was organised in 1927 by Fianna Fáil , the largest opposition party, which sought to abolish
6586-565: The plaintiffs would appeal Tarnow's decision to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals , saying "It makes no sense to conclude there was fraud and allow the vote to go forward." The 6th Circuit rejected the appeal in mid-September. On November 27, 2006, Proposal 2 was certified officially by the Michigan Secretary of State to have passed by a margin of 58% to 42% (2,141,010 "Yes" votes to 1,555,691 "No" votes). The last reported poll of October 15, by The Detroit News , showed MCRI to have up to
6675-436: The political process in Michigan to place special burdens on minority interests." Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said he would appeal the court ruling. Bill Schuette, Attorney General for the State of Michigan announced his appeal of the Sixth Circuit's decision on July 28, 2011. The MCRI stood in effect until this appeal was complete. On November 16, 2012, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, upheld
6764-428: The registered voters therein. No amendment under this section shall be authorized within five years following the ratification of this Constitution nor oftener than once every five years thereafter. This provision is further protected by Republic Act 6735 or The Initiative and Referendum Act. The law defines initiative as: The law also provides indirect initiative defining the exercise of people's initiative through
6853-524: The right to initiative. However, there is no constitutional citizens' initiative in Germany at a federal level. The Constitution of Ireland , since its 1937 enactment , has never made provision for initiatives. Since 2012, the Oireachtas (parliament) has a joint committee to which the public can submit petitions ; the committee must formally consider them but need not accept them. In May–June 2013, when
6942-413: The situation can be seen here. After the protest, the election panel again failed to certify the petitions with a vote of 2–1, falling short of the required three votes. Republican board members Katherine Degrow and Lyn Banks voted in favor with Democrats Paul Mitchell voting no and Doyle O'Connor not voting. The meeting received considerable media attention because of the protest. In the months following
7031-588: The subjects of ongoing open initiatives of the European Citizens' Initiative are e.g. about "water and sanitation as a human right" (against Water privatization ), "30 km/h - making the streets liveable!" ( Traffic calming in towns), " Unconditional Basic Income " (UBI - Exploring a pathway towards emancipatory welfare conditions), or to "End Ecocide in Europe" (to give the Earth Rights). It remains to be seen if
7120-465: The very definition of what it encompasses at the center of the controversy. Proponents argue that it bans programs in public hiring, public employment, and public education that "give preferential treatment to" or "discriminate against" individuals on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, or national origin. Opponents argue that Proposal 2 bans all affirmative action programs in the operation of public employment, education, or contracting. Proponents cite
7209-532: The voters the determination whether racial preferences may be considered in governmental decisions, in particular with respect to school decisions." Thereby upholding the Constitutionality of the amendment. The ballot initiative amended the Michigan Constitution to include a new section (Section 26 of Article I): Affirmative action programs. The subject of the proposal has been hotly debated, with
7298-418: Was accepted by the Parliament during the 2011-2015 parliamentary session, though political debate, decision-making and drafting of the new law continued on to the next parliamentary session. The new law took effect on 1 March 2017 . To date, a total of 24 citizens' initiatives have reached the 50,000 mark, with 20 of them having been either rejected or accepted in Parliament - so far, only two have been accepted:
7387-561: Was considering having the city file a federal lawsuit to overturn Proposal 2. On December 19, U.S. District Court Judge David Lawson ruled that the state's three largest public universities—the University of Michigan , Michigan State University , and Wayne State University —could delay implementation of Proposal until July 1, 2007. The universities had filed a lawsuit seeking the delay, charging fairness in admissions, in response to BAMN's lawsuit in which all three universities were named as defendants. The Center for Individual Rights has asked
7476-526: Was heard by U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Tarnow , who promised to rule on the matter by September 8, 2006, to give officials enough time to print up the ballot. During the first day of the hearing, hundreds of protesters picketed outside the courthouse chanting among other things, "Racist fraud, hell no! MCRI has got to go!" The lawsuit was filed by Operation King's Dream, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick , Detroit City Council, American-Arab Anti Discrimination Committee, Michigan Legislative Black Caucus, Keep
7565-456: Was implemented, minority admissions was up 55% from the same period in 2006. A spokeswoman for the university, Julie Peterson, has said that since the numbers aren't final and since so many minority students applied early, the drop cannot necessarily be attributed to the amendment itself. Notable endorsers of the MCRI include: Notable opponents of the MCRI include: Ballot initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative )
7654-567: Was introduced by Rep. Elmer Fulton of Oklahoma ; the proposal was never put to a vote. In 1977, both the Abourezk-Hatfield National Voter Initiative and the Jagt Resolutions never got out of committee. Senator Mike Gravel was part of that effort. The modern system of initiatives and referendums in the United States originated in the state of South Dakota , which adopted initiatives and referendums in 1898 by
7743-453: Was ratified by state conventions rather than by a referendum. Several proposals have been made to institute a national referendum. The Ludlow Amendment , introduced several times to the House of Representatives by Louis Ludlow of Indiana between 1935 and 1940, proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would require a national referendum to declare war except in the case of invasion or attack. The amendment came closest to overcoming
7832-426: Was supported by over 83% of voters. It was subsequently put into force by the incoming NDP government. Since it came into force in 1995, at least 14 attempts have been made to force the government to either adopt a law or to hold a referendum on the question, but only one has succeeded. Only one secured the required signatures of 10% of registered voters in each riding throughout British Columbia. Due to this achievement
7921-459: Was up 48–37 with 15% undecided, with the pollster admitting that his previous polls had not used the exact language of the proposal until the Sept. poll. The entire polling process highlighted an ongoing debate about the scientific value of modern phone polling on questions of race or controversial social issues where the polled members of the public may be "embarrassed" by social desirability bias to give
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