NOW we're getting somewhere
This morning
the Michigan Supreme Court issued an order directing the Board of State Canvassers to certify the nearly quarter million petition signatures to put repeal of the anti-democratic Emergency Manager Law on the November ballot.
The Michigan Supreme ruled today in a 4-3 opinion that the proposed repeal of the state’s emergency manager should be placed on the Nov. 6 ballot.
The opinion ends a long legal fight and is a victory for opponents of the law toughened by Gov. Rick Snyder and the GOP-controlled Legislature in 2011.
It means the law will be suspended until the election once the question is certified by the State Board of Canvassers.
That last line is the important bit about this and explains, in part, the desire on the part of opponents of the repeal to drag this decision out for as long as possible. It's unclear to me if PA 4 is on hold NOW or if it must wait until the Board of State Canvassers meets again. What IS clear is they will wait until the last possible minute in order to keep the law in effect for as long as possible.
I just spoke with the Board of State Canvassers' office and, so far, there is no scheduled meeting for the Board.
It's also not at all certain that the voters in Michigan will actually vote to repeal the law. Polling suggests that there may not be support for its repeal and much will depend on how effective the forces aligned to do away with the disenfranchising law are at explaining their position and getting out the vote.
Still, this is an important step and one that I am frankly surprised at.
Now the real fight begins: to convince voters that Public Act 4 is NOT what democracy looks like.
I will be updating my post at Eclectablog as responses from various organizations come in. There is a lot more analysis of this ruling including its overturning of a previous court decision on "substantial compliance".
You can follow that HERE. I'm off to the lake ; )