I just signed a petition online!

I just signed a petition online!

April 14, 2020

I just signed a petition to support amending Michigan’s Civil Rights Act to prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ Michiganders. And I did it without leaving my Florida condo.

I learned of this opportunity from a story in Michigan Advance this morning. It says

[Michigan Governor] Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-41 on Thursday, which encourages the use of electronic signatures and remote notarization, witnessing and visitations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both the order and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), which was passed in 2002, legally permit that a signature will not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form.

You can sign the petition at this site. This is what you will see:

I signed easily using my laptop and mouse. Doing so with a cell phone might be more difficult.

This is a huge advance for direct democracy. HUGE! Being able to conduct voter initiatives online will make the whole process easier and cheaper - no paying signature gatherers, no stacks of paper petitions. Petition signers' names and addresses can immediately be checked against voter registration files and if there is a problem, they can be instructed online how to fix it.

Ten years ago, I attempted to launch a petition drive to eliminate the state Senate, repeal the Public Employment Relations Act, ban collective bargaining for state employees and make Michigan a right-to-work state. I got the petitions approved by the Board of State Canvassers, but that is as far it went. The website still exists. At that time, I thought there must be a way to automate the process. All I could come up with was making the petition form available for download online so the voter could print it off, sign it, maybe collect a few other signatures, and mail it in. But that was a lot to expect, especially with an 8 1/2 by 13 inch form.

The smart tech entrepreneur should be racing to write the software for a comprehensive online voter initiative system. Since signature-gathering firms charge from $2 to 4 million, a well-designed system would be worth a lot of money to groups wanting to put a proposal before the voters.

See also:

Michigan LGBTQ ballot initiative goes digital for remaining signatures, Crain's Detroit Business, April 13, 2020
Gay rights group goes electronic in pandemic test of Michigan election law, Bridge, April 13, 2020
Petition for more LGBTQ protections in Michigan moves online, Lansing City Pulse, April 14, 2020
Michigan LGBTQ ballot proposal seeks e-signatures ... but will it work?, Detroit Free Press, April 15, 2020

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