Voters say signature gatherers often misrepresent what proposals will do. Nothing has changed.
College students across the state say they have been lied to by petition circulators, who have descended on their campuses to gather signatures in support of requiring Michigan voters to prove their citizenship.
In August, Michigan State University freshman Abby Lindley was told the petition would make it easier for immigrants and transgender people to vote, she said. University of Michigan junior Aidan Rozema reported being told in September that it would make voting easier. In October, circulators told MSU freshman Hunter Moore it would expand absentee voting, he said.
No law in Michigan requires circulators — often paid per signature — to tell the truth about what’s on a petition, or to show prospective signers the full text. While some states try to ensure accountability by banning per-signature pay or requiring circulators to live in-state, rules across the country are a patchwork.
Michigan falls on the lax end of the spectrum, allowing paid, out-of-state circulators and placing virtually no limits on how they’re compensated. Voters, in repeated episodes over decades, have complained that they signed petitions only after being misled about what an initiative would do. In some past instances, candidates for local and statewide office have been kept off the ballot — or nearly so — after circulator-related problems with signatures.
https://www.votebeat.org/michigan/2026/01/20/petition-signature-gathering-lying-ballot-questions-constitutional-amendments/