The Relevant Constitutional Text
Michigan Constitution
Article XII – AMENDMENT AND REVISION
§ 3 General revision of constitution; submission of question, convention delegates and meeting.
Sec. 3. At the general election to be held in the year 1978, and in each 16th year thereafter and at such times as may be provided by law, the question of a general revision of the constitution shall be submitted to the electors of the state. If a majority of the electors voting on the question decide in favor of a convention for such purpose, at an election to be held not later than six months after the proposal was certified as approved, the electors of each representative district as then organized shall elect one delegate and the electors of each senatorial district as then organized shall elect one delegate at a partisan election. The delegates so elected shall convene at the seat of government on the first Tuesday in October next succeeding such election or at an earlier date if provided by law.
Convention officers, rules, membership, personnel, publications.
The convention shall choose its own officers, determine the rules of its proceedings and judge the qualifications, elections and returns of its members. To fill a vacancy in the office of any delegate, the governor shall appoint a qualified resident of the same district who shall be a member of the same party as the delegate vacating the office. The convention shall have power to appoint such officers, employees and assistants as it deems necessary and to fix their compensation; to provide for the printing and distribution of its documents, journals and proceedings; to explain and disseminate information about the proposed constitution and to complete the business of the convention in an orderly manner. Each delegate shall receive for his services compensation provided by law.
Submission of proposed constitution or amendment.
No proposed constitution or amendment adopted by such convention shall be submitted to the electors for approval as hereinafter provided unless by the assent of a majority of all the delegates elected to and serving in the convention, with the names and vote of those voting entered in the journal. Any proposed constitution or amendments adopted by such convention shall be submitted to the qualified electors in the manner and at the time provided by such convention not less than 90 days after final adjournment of the convention. Upon the approval of such constitution or amendments by a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon the constitution or amendments shall take effect as provided by the convention.
History: Const. 1963, Art. XII, § 3, Eff. Jan. 1, 1964.
Former constitution: See Const. 1908, Art. XVII, § 4.
Citation: MI Const art XII § 3
Michigan Convention Timeline
Note: The following ratification information is only for the convention’s proposed revision of the constitution, not its proposed amendments. Michigan has a tradition of using conventions primarily for revision but many other states have used conventions for amendment. For example, New Hampshire has the second oldest constitution in the world but has held fifteen conventions since that revision was passed. The others have all been used to propose amendments, not revisions.
Countdown to Convention Referendum
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The Basic Process
