Supreme Court weighs fate of blocked Michigan citizenship voting proposal

Michigan’s nonpartisan, nonprofit news source LANSING — The fate of a proposal that would require Michigan voters to prove their citizenship status before casting a ballot hangs in the balance with just days to spare before the statewide ballot is finalized. Organizers are asking the US Supreme Court to order the measure onto the ballot — by Thursday — after it was blocked last week in a deadlock vote by the Board of State Canvassers. The Michigan Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on a similar appeal, prompting some opponents of the proposed constitutional amendment to argue against intervention by the nation’s highest court. Supporters, however, say time is of the essence as the state is poised to finalize the Nov. 3 ballot on Friday.

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Scoop News DeskMichigan · Published Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at 9:15 PM UTCUpdated Friday, September 4, 2026 at 1:32 AM UTC

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The state last month charged 5 noncitizens for allegedly voting in 2024. In a 39-page response , Nessel argued the request for an emergency injunction was “highly unusual.” “This application does little to justify such an unusual request, other than to repeat the number of signatures they gathered — without acknowledging or contending with the high number of signatures that were found to be invalid,” Nessel wrote, later arguing the request “should be denied.” Americans for Citizen Voting is still seeking relief from the Michigan Supreme Court, but it’s not clear if the state’s highest court will decide the matter before Friday’s ballot deadline.

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