Free Speech Is on the Ballot in Michigan

Look out for a well-hidden free speech intrusion in Michigan’s Proposal 2. The state ballot initiative, which is backed by national progressive advocacy groups, aims to get “dark” money from public contractors out of Michigan politics by limiting their political spending. But the second part of the proposal ends up putting undue and unpredictable restrictions on political speech.

The law would create a new class of political speech called “electioneering communications” to be regulated by state authorities. Electioneering communications are defined as messaging that references a political candidate through any medium — from newspapers to telephone calls to mass mailing — within 100 days before a general election or 30 days before a primary election, or “any other form of general public communication.”