State supreme courts in Utah and Michigan recently issued twin landmark decisions limiting the legislature’s power to quash citizen initiatives. These decisions spell major victories for direct democracy — that is, citizens’ power to change their laws by popular vote. In the immediate future, the Utah decision paves the way for the lower court to reinstate citizen-initiated redistricting reform; under the Michigan decision, citizen-drafted worker protections will soon take effect.
But both decisions also hang in the balance this coming election. In Utah, the legislature has referred a Hail Mary ballot measure asking voters to overrule the court; voting rights groups, in turn, have sued to block the legislature’s measure from being tallied.
In Michigan, one member of the narrow majority is up for a retention election, meaning the court could reverse course in a future ruling should that justice lose her position.
