Michigan Frontliners For Freedom Statement on the Decertify Michigan Petition Initiative
The Michigan Frontliners For Freedom Group supports election integrity, a full forensic audit of the 2020 Michigan election, the restoration of integrity and transparency in Michigan’s elections, and the restoration of voter confidence in Michigan’s election process.
As a group, we have worked hard to investigate allegations of election fraud and to support those who have been on the frontlines of this fight. We authored a letter to the Legislature to demand a full forensic audit of the 2020 election, and we have led the charge to stop the corruption and fraud by supporting, promoting, and participating in the Secure MI Vote petition initiative with our collective organizations.
While each and every one of us appreciate and respect both the individual and collective efforts that have gone into the recently drafted Decertify Michigan Petition Initiative, we must also consider many facts and factors as to whether or not we can support any given citizen-led petition initiative.
Here is a list of some of the factors that need to be considered and analyzed in order to determine the likelihood of the Decertify Michigan petition’s chances of success:
The Language of this Petition: Was it reviewed by multiple trusted constitutional experts with experience in petitions to provide recommended modifications, deletions, and general feedback? To date, it does not appear that this has happened. Was the summary language approved by the State Board of Canvassers? While this is not a requirement, it creates a huge risk up front as this will provide the very first opportunity for it to be challenged in court. The defense of this will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and could potentially drag out the process for months.
The Funding of the Petition Initiative: Is there an individual or group that has pledged the necessary resources to fund this initiative? There appears to be no real funding for this petition at this time. Petition initiatives cost millions of dollars. It is simply not possible for any petition initiative to be successful without sufficient funding. There have been many well- funded initiatives that have also failed and without adequate funding, that is a sure sign of failure.
The Calendar: The 2 questions are, when to launch? And, is there enough time to collect the necessary signatures to reach the goal? The target date for this initiative is simply not realistic at all. With the target date less than 45 days (as of this writing), it is simply not possible to collect hundreds of thousands of signatures without using the services of professional petition. circulators (even with the services of professional circulators it would be a miracle to obtain hundreds of thousands of signatures in 45 days!). Factor in the current situation that exists with regards to petition circulators whose organizations have been paid extra for petition signatures to stay out of Michigan and are in California right now. The record for collecting the required signatures was just under 90 days, and that was with a very well-organized effort that included 40,000+ citizen circulators, regional and local captains, strategic signing rallies and events held simultaneously all over the state. Even with all of the above, well over 200,000 of the signatures were gathered by paid circulators.
The Secretary of State: What timeframe will be necessary for the current SOS to verify the signatures? As everyone knows, the SOS is not our friend, and she will not review the signatures for many months. The average time frame for the SOS to review any petition initiative was 105 days, prior to covid. For the Unlock Michigan petition initiative, it was close to 180 days. Even if the necessary signatures were collected, the time frame for SOS review would not be until fall at the earliest and that is unlikely as she will use the mid-term elections as the excuse. In addition, this would not be able to be on the ballot until the 2024 election and she will claim there is no rush. The Legislature passed a bill to limit the review time and the Governor Vetoed that bill.
The Likelihood the Legislature Will Approve the Initiative: Is there a likelihood that the Legislature would bring this to a vote and that it would be successful? The answer is NO. The current leadership in the House and the Senate will not bring this to a vote and with the narrow majority in the house, it would fail, which is the exact reason why they would never take action on this. By the time the SOS reviews and approves (or not) the signatures, the Legislature will be in recess over the holiday season at the earliest. 6. The Legal Battle: There will be lawsuits and there is not a high level of confidence that the petition is defensible: There is no path to victory due to ballot initiative based on current timelines. It is impossible for this petition to succeed in time to get on the 2022 ballot, therefore, it would become a ballot initiative for 2024 (ballot initiatives are not allowable, according to Michigan election law, in odd years). However, it would not go into effect until 2025, after the next presidential election. No court will uphold an attempt to decertify the 2020 election in 2025, making this petition totally ineffective.
The Michigan Frontliners for Freedom Group is wholeheartedly committed to election integrity and to seeking accountability for those who have committed election fraud. We are very strategic and coordinated in our efforts. The people of Michigan want results and it is the responsibility of the grass roots leadership to direct and lead them to areas where they can be most effective and achieve maximum results. We have so much that we can and need to accomplish in 2022 that we cannot spend our energy on anything that doesn’t have the likelihood to be successful, which is why we are not willing to support what would be a misleading and or misguided effort at this time.
For election integrity, The Michigan Frontliners For Freedom
Ron Armstrong, President
Stand Up Michigan
Randy Bishop, President
Antrim County Conservative Union
Tammy Clark, Vice President
Stand Up Michigan
Patrick Colbeck, President
Let’s Fix Stuff
MarkGurley, President
Michigan Oak Initiative
Maija Hahn, President
United Healthcare Workers
Bill Johnson, President
American Decency Association
Ronald Matte, President
Michigan Leadership Group
Kristen Meghan, Citizen Journalist/Media Correspondent
Joe Moss, President
Michigan Impact
Rosanne Ponkowski, President
Michigan Conservative Union
Steve Redmond, President
Ottawa County Patriots Group
Rick Warzywak, President
Michigan Capitol House of Prayer/ Transformation Michigan
