Michigan Supreme Court Won’t Hear
Affirmative Action Ballot Case
LANSING Mich.
This November, Michigan voters will consider a proposal to ban some affirmative action programs after the state Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal that sought to keep this issue off of the ballot.
“We are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this court,” the justices wrote in their official decision.
The decision is a victory for the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, (MCRI) which opposes affirmative action. The group has been leading the ballot drive to ask voters in November: “should government and university admissions programs be banned from giving preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin.”
A pro-affirmative action group called By Any Means Necessary (BAMN) had urged the Supreme Court to review the issue because it disagrees with allowing the phrase “preferential treatment” to appear on the ballot. It also claims some signatures used to get the issue on the ballot were gained through misrepresentation, a charge MCRI denies.
BAMN attorney Shanta Driver criticized the court’s decision not to hear the group’s appeal.
“This decision just says that the Supreme Court will not protect the voting rights of the people of Michigan,” she says. “The Supreme Court decision shows complete disdain and contempt for the voting rights of Michigan’s Black, Latino and progressive White people.”
