LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The grassroots organization pushing for a ballot initiative to establish ranked choice voting in Michigan has paused its statewide efforts to get that measure on the 2026 ballot.
Rank MI Vote Executive Director Pat Zabawa issued a statement Thursday saying that the pause is happening as the group “builds momentum toward an eventual statewide win for Ranked Choice Voting in Michigan.”
Bridge Michigan, who first reported the pause, reported that an email to volunteers said that the organization would prepare for a second launch in April 2027 to try and get the measure on the 2028 ballot. It would have needed over 446,000 signatures by June in order to be included on the 2026 ballot.
Ranked choice voting is an election method in which voters rank candidates for an office in order of their preference (first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on). If a candidate receives more than half of the first choices, that candidate wins. However, if there is no majority winner after counting the first choices, the race is decided by an instant runoff. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who ranked that candidate as their first choice will have their votes count for their next choice. The process continues until a candidate gets a majority of the votes and wins.
It has been criticized by some organizations, including the Michigan Association of County Clerks, who passed a resolution in October urging voters to reject the proposal.
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