Michiganders Should Choose Targeted Reform Over a Constitutional Rewrite 

When Michiganders vote in November, they will see Proposal 1, which will ask whether to convene a Constitutional Convention (Con Con). This is a lengthy, drawn-out process that would open up the state’s entire constitution to a total rewrite.  

The Michigan Constitution already provides an effective and successful mechanism that allows voters to take narrow, targeted updates on important, specific issues. Many safeguards in our constitution reflect the wishes of everyday Michiganders, who can vote on them directly.  

Over the past 60 years, Michiganders have voted freely, fairly, and directly 85 times on changes to our state constitution. As a result, Michiganders can have confidence that our state’s governing document reflects our values and priorities.   

The central question of Proposal 1 is not whether Michigan should ever change its constitution. It is whether the state should begin a long, drawn-out Constitutional Convention that would open a Pandora’s Box of risky outcomes. 

The Michigan Constitution has been amended several times since 1963. Voters have repeatedly considered and approved constitutional amendments, including a few in recent years. In 2018, voters created an independent citizens redistricting commission. They changed the way congressional and state legislative districts are drawn to help ensure district boundaries are fair, transparent, and independent of political influence. That same year, voters approved the expansion of voting access through provisions including same-day voter registration and no-reason absentee voting. 

Voters also signed off on significant constitutional changes in 2022. That year, Proposal 2 won approval, further expanding voting rights and election procedures, including early in-person voting and other election-related provisions.  

Michiganders have demonstrated time and again that our constitution can evolve through targeted updates without subjecting our state’s governing document to a total rewrite. 

Amending the state constitution with specific updates is much different than a Con Con. When voters consider an individual amendment, they can examine the proposed language and consider its likely effects.  

A Con Con brings the state’s governing document back to the drawing board. Our state constitution plays a critical role in the everyday lives of Michiganders. It establishes the basic structure of state government and addresses a wide range of subjects, including the legislature, executive branch, judiciary, elections, taxation, finance, and local government. Opening the document to wholesale revisions opens a Pandora’s Box of uncertainty.

A Con Con is really a long-drawn-out process that would create gridlock for at least two years. A yes vote on Proposal 1 on the Nov. 3 ballot would start a lengthy process that includes everything from selecting delegates to opening up every single word of the Michigan Constitution to changes.  

A Con Con ultimately creates years of economic and regulatory uncertainty, triggering what could be years of litigation. If voters approve Proposal 1 on the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot, the state constitution requires delegates to be elected within six months of certification. Those delegates do not convene until the following year, the first Tuesday in October 2027. Michiganders would have to go back to the voting booth again to approve any proposed constitution changes or amendments at least 90 days after delegates finish their work and adjourn.  

That kind of drawn-out process will ultimately cost Michigan long-term development and job growth opportunities. The paralyzing process prevents businesses from making decisions about future growth, deters industries from making investments in Michigan, and even keeps small mom-and-pop shops from deciding whether to hire more workers. 

In a Constitutional Convention, a range of deep-pocketed special interest groups could work to influence changes to the state’s governing document.  

In a Con Con, special interests could completely overhaul and rewrite our state’s constitution with potentially devastating consequences for Michigan residents long into the future.  

Wealthy special interest groups want to take advantage of the absence of campaign finance rules governing Constitutional Convention delegate elections. They could remove power from Michigan voters by locking them out of the process and advancing their interests. 

Wealthy donors could use a Con Con as an opportunity to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to elect delegates who would rewrite the constitution to promote their agendas rather than the will of everyday Michiganders.

At a time of rising gas prices and skyrocketing inflation, a Con Con would cost Michigan taxpayers nearly $80 million, according to a preliminary analysis by the Senate Fiscal Agency. The high cost would prevent needed funding from being used to help solve real problems in Michigan that impact families, seniors, and young people.  

Today, working families are focused on making ends meet, raising their children, building careers, and preparing for retirement. They deserve stability and confidence that the rights and protections in the state constitution will remain secure.  

Michiganders should be laser-focused on strengthening our economy, addressing workforce challenges, and making our state more competitive for job creators. Our state could lose billions of dollars in economic activity during the long, drawn-out process of a Con Con. 

The state constitution is the people’s document. When it comes to changing the fundamental rules of our state government, Michiganders — not just politicians — should have the final say. 

Every time a Constitutional Convention has appeared on the ballot, voters have overwhelmingly voted NO. Voting NO on Proposal 1 in November will help Michigan avoid devastating consequences for our state that could last long into the future.     

We cannot afford to surrender our hard-fought rights and protections to political insiders who have their own agendas and motives. They could use a Con Con to lock out the voices of Michigan voters and rewrite the state constitution. Voters understand the real risks of letting wealthy special interests meddle in our constitution. That’s why Michiganders have rejected a Con Con by huge margins each time it has come up for a vote over the past 60 years.  

In November, Michiganders have another opportunity to protect our freedoms and rights, stand up to wealthy special interests, extremists, and billionaires, and say NO to a Con Con again.