LANSING, MI (AP)-- Michigan's elections board has deadlocked on whether to let ballot drive organizers more easily prove that voter signatures collected outside a six-month window should still count.
The Board of State Canvassers voted 2-2 Thursday on a proposal spurred by a group gathering signatures to legalize marijuana for recreational use.
Democrats supported the change while Republicans opposed it.
The vote came after months of consideration and as the GOP-led Legislature responds with legislation to require that all signatures for a statewide ballot initiative be collected in 180 days.
Organizers currently can refute a presumption that signatures older than 180 days are stale, but the process is difficult.
The board split on letting groups use a digital voter registration database instead of having to visit clerks across the state for an affidavit.
