KENT COUNTY, Mich. — In a rare move this month, the Michigan Association of County Clerks (MACC) publicly opposed a petition attempting to bring a ranked-choice voting system to the state by putting it on the ballot.
A resolution passed by the MACC, which does not typically take positions on statewide ballot initiatives, said it "respectfully" disagreed with the petition "due to its impact on ballot clarity, voter understanding, election costs, timely reporting of results, and overall election integrity."
Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons, who has served Michigan's fourth largest county for several elections, also voiced similar opposition.
"Michigan voters are used to knowing who won an election in a timely manner, so it’s incredibly important that we’re able to report accurate, unofficial results on election night,” Posthumus Lyons said in a statement.
"Determining a winner will take drastically longer under ranked-choice voting," she said. "Delayed results erode the public’s trust by fueling uncertainty and misinformation."
Rank MI Vote
A nonprofit, Rank MI Vote is currently collecting signatures for a petition attempting to give Michiganders the chance to decide vote on whether to enact a ranked-choice voting system in the state.
Put simply, the nonprofit's petition says voters should be able to rank certain candidates in order of preference, rather than simply pick one.
In addition, no candidate may win their race without a majority of the vote. If this percentage is not achieved upon the first election, the process repeats until a majority is reached.
As written, the petition would allow ranked-choice voting for the presidential, gubernatorial, and U.S. congressional elections, as well as the Michigan Attorney General and the Michigan Secretary of State.
"Voters are aware of the issues we're trying to solve," said Joe Spaulding, campaign director for Rank MI Vote. "They know there is a toxicity in politics that needs to be reversed and they also know they're feeling pinched by often being forced to choose between the lesser of two evils."
Spaulding says a ranked-choice voting system encourages candidates to be accountable to a larger base of people as a majority is needed to ensure their election.
"Voters get more choice, then they get more voice," he said.
Kent County Clerk
A week ahead of the November election, Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons spoke with me about her opposition to Rank MI Vote.
"It's complicated. It's confusing," Posthumus Lyons said. "Right now, we're dealing with a proposal in front of us that, as written, is very problematic for our voters and for our system here in Michigan."
Similar to the Michigan Association of County Clerks, Posthumus Lyons said the system put forth by the petition would "drastically" delay the speed at which election results are made official.
"When you have delayed results that can undermine voter confidence," she said. "We want our voters to get the accurate results as soon as possible, and so we're very concerned about what this measure will do for that."
A provision in the petition that would allow voters to rank political parties and cast a straight-ticket ballot, the clerk says, may also come into conflict with the state's constitution.
"As it's written, [MACC] felt it was very important to make sure voters were aware of some concerns, some unintended consequences," Posthumus Lyons said.
A rebuttal
In an interview on Tuesday, Rank MI Vote Campaign Director Joe Spaulding said the MACC's opposition to the petition was "the fundamental disposition we're fighting against."
"When it comes to our elections, we can make our choices about whether we want to value fast results or whether we want to value high quality results," he said.
"Our concern is making sure that voters have more power at the ballot box."
Spaulding says the Rank MI Vote campaign, by his estimation, has collected between 150,000 and 200,000 signatures from voters across the state. In order to earn a spot on the ballot in November 2026, it will need more than 500,000 by mid-January.
"We're well on our way," he said.
