(WXYZ) — A proposal to raise Michigan's minimum wage to $15 has been blocked from getting on the 2024 ballot after the Michigan Board of Canvassers deadlocked on whether or not it had a sufficient number of signatures.
Earlier this week, One Fair Wage MI, the group behind the proposal, said they gathered more than 610,000 verified signatures to put the proposal on the ballot. They said the Michigan Bureau of Elections certified those signatures.
However, there were still steps for the proposal to get on the ballot. Those signatures then have to be certified by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, and a ballot title and summary have to be approved before it gets on the ballot.
The proposal would raise Michigan's minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2027, and the minimum wage would see a $1 yearly increase until it hits $15 per hour. After that, organizers say the wage would adjust with inflation. The proposal also calls to end a two-tiered wage system in Michigan and close the disparity between tipped and non-tipped workers over four years.
During the board's meeting on Friday, the two Democratic members voted to certify the petition while the Republican members voted against it, citing changes in the language of the petition.
The changes deal with the definition of an employer. Organizers wanted to change the definition of an employer from someone who employs two or more people to someone who employs one or more. But, in the petition that was circulated, they did not change the two to a one and instead had "21" or more people.
Mark Brewer, an attorney for the group behind the petition, said the change was intentional. He also said that the board legally had to certify the petition because the number of signatures gathered was sufficient.
A group against the petition, Michigan Opportunity, called the proposal "sloppy" and commended the board's decision.
Under Michigan law, any ballot initiative that is approved to go on the ballot first can go to the Michigan Legislature to adopt and/or amend the initiative.
It's likely the issue will now head to court.
