LANSING — At least one statewide ballot campaign has kicked off their efforts to collect the nearly 450,000 valid signatures required for a spot on next year’s ballot.
The Ax-MI-Tax proposal, which would abolish all property taxes in the state, began signature gathering this month.
They’re looking to re-direct the nearly $20 billion collected across Michigan annually.
“Let people pick and choose what they want to use their money for,” said Karla Wagner, director of the Ax-MI-Tax campaign. “The government should not be doing that for them.”
Wagner says that local governments spend too much on non-essential projects, like public recreation.
“People that don’t use the service certainly shouldn’t be paying for it at the risk of losing their home, their farm or their business if they can’t afford that bill,” she said.
The tax proposal would shift more state revenue to local governments through sales tax and consumption taxes.
But Michigan policy experts say that the property tax plays an important role in funding critical services that would difficult — if not impossible — to replace.
“Property taxes are the primary means of funding local government in Michigan,” said Eric Lupher, president of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. “Every local government is using that property tax to come up with its funding to do things.”
Property taxes go toward road repair, law enforcement, ambulance services, school districts and more. No other states have eliminated their property taxes entirely.
“It’s very understandable that the idea of a property tax cut elimination would be enticing,” Lupher said. “But we also appreciate the idea that when you pick up the phone, police and fire are going to show up, and when you have a five and six year old, there will be somebody in the building that’s going to teach them their ABCs and arithmetic.”
Lupher says that those services could be risked without proper funding.
Another proposal would put new limits on voting access, requiring a verification of citizenship from all voters.
Non-citizen voting is already illegal — but the campaign says that those laws are self-enforced and can create gaps in the system.
“We just need to empower and require the secretary of state to do the job of checking to make sure that non citizens are not voting in the future,” said Paul Jacob, director of Americans for Citizen Voting.
A secretary of state analysis found that 16 non-citizens voted in the 2024 election.
“Any non citizen voting in the election takes away the vote from someone who is a citizen,” Jacob said. “It cancels out someone else’s vote, potentially.”
But voting rights groups say that the policies would exclude eligible voters who are citizens, often from disadvantaged groups, by adding administrative hurdles.
“When you chip away at the ability of young voters, women, black and brown communities, rural communities and the elderly to cast a ballot, what we’re left with is a shrinking pool of voters that is going to affect who gets elected,” said Christy McGillivray, director of Voters not Politicians.
Campaigns have until this time next year to submit their final collection of signatures.