A group petitioning for an independent redistricting commission in Michigan reports they’re more than halfway to the minimum required amount of signatures necessary for the 2018 ballot. The group Voters Not Politicians, which was approved as to form by the Board of State Canvassers Aug. 17, has collected more than 200,000 signatures so far, Voters Not Politicians president Katie Fahey said Wednesday. The group needs to collect 315,654 signatures in 180 days to get the proposal on the 2018 ballot, which must be turned in to state elections officials and verified by the Board of State Canvassers.
Fahey said Voters Not Politicians is paying for signature verification gathering as the collection process continues to keep an estimate on signature validity, and says they hope to collect additional signatures to provide a cushion.
The group has relied on an all-volunteer group of petition gatherers, and Fahey said sheets of signatures have been turned in from 83 counties. At least 3,000 people are volunteering for the group as petition circulators, Fahey said.
“From the beginning, we’ve seen this huge, overwhelming response,” Fahey said. “We knew for a long time that we had this capability…it’s rewarding to finally see all the hard work, preparation and planning really has paid off. We really were ready to go.”
Full Article: Group pushing redistricting petition reports they’ve collected more than 200K signatures | MLive.com.