CRC Memorandum
| No. 1063 | A publication of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan | July 2002 |
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Election of Detroit City Council Members
On Wednesday, July 17, 2002, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in State of Michigan V City Council for City of Detroit, et al., that the State of Michigan ballot question concerning the method of electing City Council members in the City of Detroit is to be removed from the ballot.
The court opined that Public Act 432 of 2002 is a local act.
The statute does not refer by name to the city of Detroit, but rather purports to apply to any city with a population of more than 750,000 that has a nine-member at-large elected city council. However, at present, only the city of Detroit meets that population criterion.
While the courts have upheld other statutes that use such measures as population to narrow the number of local units of government that qualify for inclusion,
Even if another city reaches a population of 750,000, and has a nine-member at-large council, Act 432 would not apply because of its requirement that the proposition appear on the ballot at the August 6, 2002, election. No other city can meet that requirement because there will be no new census before that date.
The court said that because Public Act 432 did not receive the requisite two-thirds majority of votes in the Michigan House of Representatives necessary to satisfy Article IV, Section 29, it could not be placed before the voters for approval.
CRC Memorandum #1063 was written while challenges to Public Act 432 were ongoing, in anticipation that the question would appear on the ballot. To read Memo #1063, Click Here