The
Reproductive
Freedom
for All constitutional amendment
will not appear on the November
ballot after the Michigan Board of
State Canvassers tied on a Tuesday
afternoon vote. The decision is
expected to be appealed to the
Michigan Supreme Court.
The
proposed
amendment
would
protect
the
right
to
abortion, contraceptives and other
reproductive healthcare services in
Michigan. The four board members
split the vote along partisan lines,
with board chair Anthony Daunt
(R) and board member Richard
Houskamp (R) voting against its
placement on the ballot and vice
chair Mary Ellen Gurewitz (D) and
board member Jeannette Bradshaw
(D) voting in favor.
The board is responsible for
reviewing
nominating
petitions
and statewide ballot initiatives,
certifying statewide elections and
overseeing other election practices,
such as electronic voting systems.
As of Sept. 1, the board has only
approved one ballot initiative, which
seeks to modify term limit and
financial disclosure requirements
for state lawmakers.
The
tied
vote
leaves
the
Reproductive
Freedom
for
All
initiative off the ballot. In response,
Reproductive
Freedom
for
All,
the group which sponsored the
proposed amendment, is expected
to appeal the decision, calling on the
liberal leaning Michigan Supreme
Court to put the amendment on the
ballot.
The initiative collected nearly
800,000 signatures, of which the
Michigan
Bureau
of
Elections
estimates around 596,000 were
valid, exceeding the 425,059 needed
to be on the ballot.
Opponents of the amendment
have pointed to issues with spacing
and errors in the text distributed
to signers of the petitions rendered
the results invalid. Reproductive
Freedom for All lawyer Steve Liedel
said that is not a legitimate legal
reason to reject it.
Darci McConnell, a spokeswoman
for Reproductive Freedom for All,
told The Detroit News the group
adhered to all laws governing the
petitioning process.
“We are confident that we’re
in compliance with the legal and
statutory requirements for ballot
proposals,” McConnell said. “In
fact, hundreds of thousands of
Michiganders have spoken: more
than 730,000 registered voters
— a record number — have read,
understood and signed the petition.”
Abortion
remains
legal
in
Michigan
under
a
preliminary
injunction
blocking
the
state’s
1931 abortion ban, issued as part
of a lawsuit filed by Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer. Whitmer’s suit requests
the
Michigan
Supreme
Court
consider
if
abortion
access
is
included in the state constitution.
If the Reproductive Freedom for
All initiative is on the November
ballot, it needs a simple majority vote
to pass. If passed, the amendment
would go into effect 45 days after
the election. If the petition is not
included on the ballot, the Michigan
Supreme
Court’s
decision
in
Whitmer’s suit would determine
whether abortion is constitutionally
protected in the state.
Daily Staff Reporter Samantha
Rich can be reached at sammrich@
umich.edu.
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Michigan board deadlocks on reproductive
healthcare rights for November ballot
SAMANTHA RICH
Daily News Reporter
NEWS
GOP nominates Epstein,
Vartanian for contested
regents seats
Absentee ballots applications
now available for November
general election
ISABELLA KASSA
Daily News Reporter
SAMANTHA RICH
Daily News Reporter
KATE WEILAND
Managing Editor kmwblue@umich.edu
KEITH MELONG/Daily
Drag performer Zooey Gaychanel celebrates the local LGBTQ+ community with students on Palmer Field Sunday afternoon.
ANNA FUDER/Daily
Citizens participate in the March for Reproductive Rights in downtown Ann Arbor
October 2021.
Republican
delegates
representing
every
Michigan
county met in Lansing Saturday to
nominate their party’s candidates
for the University of Michigan
Board of Regents, among other
statewide positions. Lena Epstein
and
Sevag
Vartanian
were
nominated as candidates for the
Board of Regents following the
convention.
Both candidates were endorsed
prior to Saturday’s nomination by
the Michigan Republican Party
during an April convention where
Rudy Giuliani, former President
Donald Trump’s former attorney,
personally endorsed Epstein.
According to the Detroit Free
Press, Ron Weiser, current regent
and chairman of the Michigan
Republican Party, was booed by
“hundreds” During the April
endorsement,
Epstein
called
Weiser a “crook” and stated that
she was calling for his “immediate
resignation”
in
front
of
the
audience.
Epstein is the co-owner of Vesco
Oil Corporation in Southfield,
Mich. and served as the Michigan
chair for the Trump Campaign in
2016. Vartanian currently runs
Vartanian Capital Management,
an asset management firm in
Novi, Mich.
Epstein
faced
allegations
of domestic abuse following
a
September
2021
incident
in which she was arrested
at Mackinac Island’s Grand
Hotel for allegedly assaulting
her boyfriend in front of her
young child while under the
influence of alcohol. The arrest
came to light last month when
Epstein’s ex-husband’s lawyer
stated
during
their
divorce
proceedings
that
Epstein’s
“behavior over the past year has
been questionable and erratic.”
No
criminal
charges
were
brought against Epstein due to
the incident.
In an interview with Bridge
Michigan, Epstein called the
allegations “fake news” and
offered to provide a reporter
with some “real tangible gossip”
that “doesn’t involve (Epstein).”
Epstein
and
Vartanian
will run against Democratic
incumbents Katherine White
and
Michael
Behm
in
the
November General Election.
Daily Staff Reporter Isabella
Kassa can be reached at ikassa@
umich.edu.
Michigan residents can now
apply for absentee ballots for the
Nov. 8 general election, according
to an Aug. 25 press release from
Jocelyn
Benson,
Michigan
Secretary of State.
To apply for an absentee ballot,
voters can either register online
here before 5 p.m. the Friday
before the election, or download
and print the application and
return it by mail or in-person to
the local city or township clerk.
“Every successful election we
have held in Michigan over the
last three years, voters have made
it clear they want options for
how and when to cast their ballot
by choosing to do so absentee in
record numbers,” Benson wrote
in the release. “No matter what
secure method they choose —
whether voting by mail, local
drop box or at their clerk’s office
— Michiganders can be confident
their vote will be counted and
their voice will be heard.”
Voters can now use a ballot-
tracking tool to monitor when
their local clerk receives their
absentee application, when the
ballot has been mailed to them
and when the state receives their
completed ballot.
On the ballot this year are
candidates for governor, lieutenant
governor,
attorney
general,
secretary of state, the Michigan
legislature and local and state
judges. Michigan voters will also
decide on candidates for the boards
of the University of Michigan,
Michigan State University and
Wayne State University, as well as
ballot measures.
Proposals must receive a specific
number of signatures in order to
appear on the ballot — 425,059
for a constitutional amendment
and 340,047 for legislation. As of
August 29, only one proposal that
alters term limits and financial
disclosure requirements for state
lawmakers is on the ballot. Five
more have submitted signatures to
the Board of Canvassers for review.
The state will begin mailing out
absentee ballots by Sept. 29. All
absentee ballots must be returned
to a local clerk’s office by 8:00p.m.
on Nov. 8; mail-in ballots must be
postmarked Nov. 8 or earlier to be
counted.
Correction 8/30: This headline
has been updated to clarify that
only absentee ballot applications
are
available,
not
the
ballots
themselves.
Daily Staff Reporter Samantha
Rich can be reached at sammrich@
umich.edu.
NEWS
NEWS
Protection of right to abortion, contraceptives denied ballot appearance, court fight expected
After contentious convention, candidates turn to
general election against Behm and White
Register online or in-person to vote by mail
securely between today and Nov. 4