Some Resources
Note: This is not a well-curated collection of resources. But it could be a starting point for those seeking to do their own research.
General Resources
Michigan Current Constitution, Michigan Legislature.
Michigan's Current Constitution, Justicia.
Michigan's Constitutions, Michigan Legislature.
Michigan Constitutional Conventions, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
History of the Michigan Constitution, Detroit Mercy Law.
Government of the Northwest Territory, The Confederate Congress, July 13, 1787.
Michigan Constitutional Convention Delegates, Michigan Manual 2015-2016
Michigan Constitutional Convention records, Michigan State University.
Michigan Constitutional Law, Library of Michigan Digital Repository.
Constitution of Michigan, Michigan Supreme Court Learning Center.
Fino, Susan, The Michigan Constitution: A Reference Guide, Oxford University Press, 2011.
Mackinac Center Launches First Comprehensive Database of Michigan’s Constitutional History, Mackinac Center Press Release, Nov. 12, 2025.
Michigan Constitutoinal Archive, Mackinac Center.
Convention Specific Resources
Note: Some of the general resources in the left hand column link you to the resources below on specific conventions.
2026 Convention Call
Citizens Research Council of Michigan. Beginning Feb. 10, 2026, it is releasing fifteen papers concerning the upcoming convention referendum. The papers, which are being released at roughly two week intervals, focus on issues a convention might consider. Each of the 12 articles in Michigan's Constitution, including its Declaration of Rights, is scrutinized for possible improvements.
2010 Convention Call
A Brief Michigan Constitutional History, Citizens Research Council of Michigan, February 2012.
A Citizen’s Guide to Michigan Campaign Finance–2010, Michigan Campaign Finance Network, 2011. (See page 32).
Lehman, Joseph G., Constitutional Convention Won’t Fix Michigan’s Problems, Mackinac Center, April 1, 2010.
1994 Convention Call
A Brief Michigan Constitutional History, Citizens Research Council of Michigan, July 1994.
1978 Convention Call
Michigan Academy of Science, Arts & Letters. “Michigan’s 1978 Constitutional Convention Vote: An Analysis.” Note: Examines voter attitudes, campaign messaging, and partisan alignment.
Midwestern Political Science Association Papers (1979–1981). Note: Several conference papers analyzed why the 1978 referendum failed and how interest groups shaped the debate.
Detroit Free Press and Detroit News archives (1978).
1961-62 Convention
1963 Michigan Constitution, including 1961-1962 Michigan Constitutional Convention, Library of Michigan, Donna Christine Hellman State Constitutional Law Collection
State of Michigan Constitutional Convention 1961-1962 Official Record, Gale, Making of Modern Law.
Before 2026 constitutional convention vote, book documents Michigan's first women delegates in 1961, WKAR,, Oct. 20, 2025.
Lynn Liberato, Michigan’s Con-Con 11: Women and State Constitution-making in 1961, Michigan State University Press. 2025.
CRC and the Con-Con, Citizens Research Council of Michigan, April 5, 2016.
Pollock, James K., Making Michigan's New Constitution 1961-1962, George Wahr Publishing Co., 1962.
Michigan Can Lead the Way: Michigan Constitutional Convention, Michigan History Center, 2009. 27 minute video.
Description: Michigan State Senator Tom George discusses the Constitutional Convention of 1963 with Constitutional Convention Delegate Eugene Wanger (This was produced in the context of the 2010 constiutional convention referendum.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-mEIF-FaFk
Liberato, Lynn, Con-Con’s Petticoat Revolt: Women at the 1961 Constitutional Convention, CHRONICLE magazine, Historical Society of Michigan, Summer 2023, pages 14-17.
1907-8 Convention
John A. Fairlie, The Michigan Constitutional Convention, 6 Mich. L. Rev. 533 (1908).
1873 Constitutional Commission
The Constitution Of Michigan With Amendments Thereto: As Recommended By The Constitutional Commission Of 1873, Michigan Constitutional Commission, 1873.
1850 Constitutional Convention
Books on 1850 Constitutional Convntion, University of Pennsylvania.
1835 Constitutional Convention
1835 Michigan Constitution, Michiganology.
Competitors to the Convention Process
Amendments & Initiatives
List of Michigan ballot proposals, Wikipedia.
Michigan Constitutional Amendments, Legiscan
Michigan, The Initiative and Referendum Institute.
Amending the Michigan Constitution
The Process, Green Amendments for the Generations.
Initiatives and Referendums under the Constitution of the State of Michigan of 1963, Michigan Secretary of State, Aug. 2024.
Laws governing the initiative process in Michigan, Ballotpedia
Michigan Direct Democracy, State Democracy Research Initiative, Nov. 2. 2023.
How an Issue Becomes a Ballot Proposal, Michigan Manual 2009-2010.
History of Initiative & Referendum in Michigan, Ballotpedia.
Michigan Initiatives for Action
Initiative Politics
Carter, Sara, and Alice Chapman, Politicians Take Aim at Ballot Initiatives, Brennan Center for Justice, Jan. 16, 2024.
Michigan Supreme Court Strikes Down Legislature’s Attempt to Thwart State’s Direct Democracy Power, University of Wisconsin Law School, State Democracy Research Initiative, July 31, 2024.
Citizens Protecting Michigan’s Constitution v. Sec’y of State, Brennan Center, July 31, 2018.