Michigan: Affirmative action could be on 2006 ballot

A group that opposes race- and gender-based preferences in university admissions and government hiring said it submitted more than 508,000 petition signatures Thursday to state election officials, a move that sets the stage early for a heated battle over a proposal that could appear on the November 2006 ballot. Calling themselves the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, the supporters needed 317,757 signatures to place the proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot. They ended up with 508,202. Members said they expect no problems in getting enough signatures certified by election officials. The group is financed by Ward Connerly, a black University of California regent who led successful battles to ban affirmative action in California and Washington. "I think it's a challenge-proof initiative," Connerly said. "But anyone who wants to challenge it - make my day." The proposed amendment would prohibit governments from "discriminating or granting preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin," as the ballot language reads. During a news conference in Lansing, group leaders said they're not seeking an end to all affirmative action programs. But opponents of the group claim they have passed out fliers that read "help end 'affirmative action.'" "Here we go again," said state Rep. Clarence Phillips, D-Pontiac and a member of the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus, which joined a lawsuit last year that challenged the petition. "This is one of those political wedge issues that only divide groups against one another and communities against one another. And I think it's a bad, bad time, coming off of a divisive election. "I don't think we need this kind of thing." [more] and [more]

• Pictured above: HATER of Blacks & Latinos, Ward Connerly, left, and Jennifer Gratz talk about Michigan Civil Rights Initiative petition signatures for a constitutional amendment during a news conference at the state Capitol Thursday in Lansing, Mich.