LANSING (WKZO AM/FM) — The Campaign to put a part time legislature on the ballot has stumbled across the finish line short of the signatures they need to qualify for the November ballot.
They have just pulled the plug on the drive, which was started by Lt. Governor Brian Calley.
State House Candidate Seann McCann says its main purpose was to entice conservatives to vote, and would not have been good for the state had it passed.
There are rumblings in the State Legislature about legalizing marijuana for recreational uses to keep the petition initiative from appearing on the fall ballot.
Republicans fear that the ballot item will attract a lot of voters to the polls who may not be be on their side, giving Democrats enough victories to flip the House and greatly reduce the majority in the Senate.
Political consultant Dennis Darnoi says polls show the measure will pass this fall, and it could increase turnout by up to three-percent.
There is also the issue of reapportionment reform, which is also expected to attract liberal and independent voters to a lesser degree and is also has a very good chance of being on the fall ballot.
Darnois says there are Republicans worried even without an uptick in turnout, voter anger over President Trump and the current direction of the country could add to the “blue wave” and result in Democrats seizing control of the state House this fall.
Michigan voters approved medical marijuana by a wide margin in 2008, and the reapportionment issue is also doing very well in the polls.
With no ballot items to attract conservative voters, it could turn the Blue Wave into a tsunami
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