A group spearheading a ballot drive to add LGBTQ anti-discrimination protections to Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act is moving to collect voter signatures online because of the coronavirus pandemic. Fair and Equal Michigan says the electronic petition campaign is believed to be the first in state history. The group says the strategy is legal and secure. People who want to sign can go to a website with a two-factor authentication system and enter their driver’s license or state ID card number to be cross-checked against the voter file. The ballot committee has until late May to collect about 340,000 valid signatures.
The St. Joseph City Commission this week considered a resolution to support the efforts of Fair and Equal Michigan, but tabled it over concerns about expressing an opinion one way or another on a statewide ballot issue. The city became one of about four dozen last year to add LGBTQ protections to its own municipal civil rights ordinance. In many areas of Michigan, it’s legal to deny housing or employment to people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, and that discrimination is what Fair and Equal Michigan is seeking to end.
Fiat Chrysler, General Motors, and Ford Motor Company have become the latest businesses in Michigan to endorse the ballot proposal. Whirlpool has been on board from the start.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
