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. The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com News 2 — Wednesday, September 7, 2022 PHOTO OF THE WEEK The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is publishing weekly on Wednesdays for the Winter 2022 semester by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. If you would like a current copy of the paper mailed to you, please visit store. pub.umich.edu/michigan-daily-buy-this-edition to place your order. VANESSA KIEFER Managing Editor vkiefer@umich.edu DOMINIC COLETTI and KRISTINA ZHENG Managing News Editors news@michigandaily.com JULIAN BARNARD and SHUBHUM ‘SHUBS’ GIROTI Editorial Page Editors tothedaily@michigandaily.com LILLIAN PEARCE and SABRIYA IMAMI Managing Arts Editors arts@michigandaily.com GRACE BEAL and TESS CROWLEY Managing Photo Editors photo@michigandaily.com GRACE TUCKER Managing Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com CAROLINE ATKINSON and ETHAN PATRICK Managing Copy Editors copydesk@michigandaily.com DORA GUO and ERIC LAU Managing Online Editors webteam@michigandaily.com HANNAH ELLIOTT and JULIA RAGUCKAS Managing Video Editors video@michigandaily.com Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com ARTS SECTION arts@michigandaily.com SPORTS SECTION sports@michigandaily.com NEWS TIPS tipline@michigandaily.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR tothedaily@michigandaily.com EDITORIAL PAGE opinion@michigandaily.com AARON SANTILLI Business Manager business@michigandaily.com PAIGE HODDER Editor-in-Chief eic@michigandaily.com PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION photo@michigandaily.com NEWSROOM news@michigandaily.com CORRECTIONS corrections@michigandaily.com JARED GREENSPAN and NICK STOLL Managing Sports Editors sports@michigandaily.com ERIN SHI and SOPHIE GRAND Managing Design Editors design@michigandaily.com ELIYA IMTIAZ and JESSICA KWON Michigan in Color Editors michiganincolor@michigandaily.com EVAN DELORENZO and ZOE STORER Managing Social Media Editors socialmedia@michigandaily.com Editorial Staff Business Staff IRENE CHUNG Creative Director DOUG MCCLURE and MAX ROSENZWEIG Managing Podcast Editors podeditors@michigandaily.com KATIE LYNGKLIP Sales Manager ADVERTISING wmg-contact@umich.edu AYA SALIM Digital Managing Editor ayasalim@umich.edu AKSHARA KOOTTALA Chair of Culture, Training, and Inclusion accessandinclusion@michigandaily.com 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