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LANSING – The League of Women Voters of Michigan along with other election reform advocates filed on Monday a complaint in the Michigan Court of Claims regarding 2018 Public Act 608, which says no more than 15 percent of the signatures on a ballot petition can be counted from a single congressional district and imposed other onerous requirements on petition drives.

“The League of Women Voters of Michigan is calling on the Court of Claims to protect petitioning, our most direct exercise of democracy,” said Christina Schlitt, president of the League. “The court should declare PA 608 unconstitutional because it imposes extreme obstacles on the will of the people being carried out. We must ensure the voices of our voters are heard and that ‘all political power is inherent in the people’ as stated in Michigan’s Constitution.”

The League originally filed a lawsuit in May 2019 arguing the law that made it harder to initiate ballot drives by limiting the number of signatures. That lawsuit was dismissed for procedural reasons late last year.

Other plaintiffs on the complaint include Progress Michigan, the Coalition to Close Lansing Loopholes and Michiganders for Fair and Transparent Elections.