PROP 1 - The Sequel NOBODY Asked For

Michigan voters will face an unusual question on the November 3 ballot: Should Michigan convene a constitutional convention to consider a general revision of our state Constitution?

Proposal 1 is not a citizen initiative or a proposal from the Legislature. The question appears automatically every 16 years under Article XII, Section 3 of Michigan’s Constitution. Michigan’s current Constitution was adopted in 1963.

The ballot question is straightforward: Should Michigan elect delegates in a partisan special election and convene a constitutional convention in 2027 to draft a general revision of the Constitution, which would then be presented to Michigan voters for approval or rejection?

This isn't the first rodeo regarding this proposal!

Michigan voters have failed to approve calling a constitutional convention 12 times historically, including each of the three automatic votes since adoption of the current Constitution. 

And the last automatic vote in 2010 wasn't particularly close.

YES: 983,019 — 33.4%NO: 1,960,573 — 66.6%

This is not a vote on whether Michigan's Constitution needs improvement. It's a vote on which mechanism should be used to amend it:

Yes vote:

A YES vote does not change the Michigan Constitution. It begins a process.

Michigan would elect delegates to a constitutional convention. Those delegates would be empowered to examine the Constitution as a whole and propose a general revision. The convention would convene in Lansing in October 2027.

Most importantly, whatever the convention ultimately proposes would not automatically become law. Michigan voters would get another vote and could approve or reject the proposed Constitution.

No vote:

Changes to the Michigan Constitution follow the process already in place which are contained in the Michigan Constitution itself under Article XII — “Amendment and Revision”. Voters and the Legislature can propose individual constitutional amendments without reopening the entire document!

If something needs fixing, fix that provision. Don't open the entire Constitution to a political battle involving parties, interest groups and elected convention delegates where the entire Constitution is on the table.

The bottom line

The question isn't whether Michigan's Constitution should ever change. It already can—and does. The question is whether the benefits of reviewing the entire Constitution outweigh the political, financial and institutional uncertainty created by opening the entire document for revision.

YES: Open the Constitution for comprehensive review by elected delegates that involves significant time, money, and resources.  Current estimates put the taxpayer cost of a constitutional convention in the tens of millions of dollars—roughly $50 million to potentially $80 million—depending heavily on how long the convention lasts and how its elections and operations are conducted.

NO: Continue addressing constitutional changes individually rather than opening the entire document for revision.

Opposition to Proposal 1 has united organizations that aren't exactly famous for singing from the same hymnal: the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Michigan AFL-CIO, Michigan Education Association, League of Women Voters of Michigan, ACLU of Michigan, Business Leaders for Michigan, Michigan League of Conservation Voters and others.

I am not in favor of wasting money on something where a process already exists and doesn’t cost millions and millions of tax payer money.

Vote NO on Proposal 1 on November 3, 2026.

Local Community Member

Cindy Wells