'Money Out of Politics' Ballot Initiative Hits Key Deadline — Challenge Window Closes July 10

For Warren and Macomb County candidates, the question is no longer just who can raise the most money — it is whether utilities and major government contractors could be barred from giving at all.

The deadline to challenge signatures on the Michiganders for Money Out of Politics petition passed at 5 p.m. July 10. The campaign finance reform petition now awaits a final certification vote, despite opposition claiming the signature sample falls short.

The Michigan Bureau of Elections recommended certifying the petition, finding approximately 368,762 valid signatures — roughly 11,804 more than the 356,958 needed to qualify. The Michiganders for Money Out of Politics campaign had submitted an estimated 562,000 signatures to the Secretary of State.

Protect MI Free Speech, a ballot committee that includes the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, filed a formal challenge arguing that a Bureau of Elections 1,000-signature sample showed only 568 valid signatures, below the 636 needed for certification.

The Bureau initially found 799 valid and 201 invalid signatures in the sample. After examining challenges to 432 signatures, staff determined an additional 142 were invalid, but the sample still appears to exceed the 636 valid-signature threshold required for certification.

The Board of State Canvassers is scheduled to meet Friday, July 24, 2026, to officially determine whether the petition has sufficient signatures to advance.

The petition would prohibit regulated monopoly utilities — specifically regulated electric and gas utilities such as DTE Energy and Consumers Energy — from making direct or indirect campaign contributions to candidates or ballot measure committees for offices that impact them. It would also prohibit corporations that hold or seek annual government contracts exceeding $250,000 from making direct or indirect campaign contributions. Large players affected by the contractor ban include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and UnitedHealth. The measure would further bar people and organizations with substantial connections to regulated utilities or major government contractors from making campaign contributions.

Those rules would reach well beyond Lansing. The initiative applies to both state and local offices, including city council elections, because it amends state campaign finance law across all elections in Michigan. Any corporation holding or seeking annual government contracts with the City of Warren exceeding $250,000 would be prohibited from contributing to Warren City Council candidates. Corporations with annual Macomb County government contracts exceeding $250,000 would likewise be prohibited from contributing to candidates for county commissioner, county executive, or prosecutor.

Between January 1 and April 20, 2026, Consumers Energy and DTE Energy together donated $156,760 to state lawmakers, illustrating the scale of utility political spending the petition would curtail. Utilities gave $421,100 in donations in 2025 and spent about $1.6 million in the 2022 election cycle. DTE and Consumers-affiliated PACs have provided more than $1.7 million in contributions to current elected officials over the course of their careers.

CMS Energy, the parent company of Consumers Energy, has contributed financially to Protect MI Free Speech, the main committee formed to oppose the ballot initiative.

Separately, 148 Michigan lawmakers and candidates have signed the Michigan League of Conservation Voters' No Utility Money Challenge, pledging not to knowingly accept more than $200 in total contributions from monopoly utility PACs, lobbyists, executives, employee PACs, and other groups aligned with utility interests.

If the Board of State Canvassers certifies the petition on July 24, it will be transmitted to the Michigan Legislature, which can either accept the proposal or allow it to proceed directly to the November 2026 ballot for voters to decide. For Warren and Macomb County voters, the decision could determine whether the money behind local campaigns can keep coming from the companies seeking to influence government in the first place.