Signatures are currently being gathered on a number of Constitutional amendments and initiated legislation to be placed on the November 2026 ballot. In Michigan, once the number of valid signatures required by the constitution is reached in a 180-day time period, the proposal is approved by the Board of Canvassers and placed on the ballot.

The minimum number of valid signatures* required for initiatives and

referendums are based on the total number of votes cast for all candidates for

Governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Signature requirements are as follows:

• Constitutional Amendment: 446,198
• Initiated Legislation: 356,958
• Referendum: 223,099

Several of these proposals are backed by dark money outside of the state and have potentially devastating consequences for Michigan. Below are the proposals that have significant funding and activity and are likely to be on the ballot. As of this writing, no proposal has been approved for the 2026 ballot.

This article is for information only and does not necessarily mean that NFIB has or will engage in each proposal.

Graduated Income Tax Constitutional Amendment (Invest in MI Kids)

Proponents want to increase Michigan’s income tax to 9.5% for income exceeding $500,000 as single filer ($1,000,000 for joint filers), including many small and midsized businesses, most of which are pass-through entities (sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, LLCs), and whose income is taxed at the owner’s individual rate. Proponents of the Constitutional amendment say the new funding would be allocated for Michigan schools — although they’ve outlined zero plans for how they’ll use the revenue to boost student achievement. If approved by voters, Michigan would have the 7^th highest income tax rate in the country and the highest in the Midwest — nearly tripling Indiana and Ohio’s rates (3% and 3.5%, respectively).

NFIB is opposed to this proposal. Read HERE for more information.

Minimum Wage (Public Act 1 of 2025) Referendum (Voters to Stop Pay Cuts)

The out of state dark money group One Fair Wage, under the name of Voters to Stop Pay Cuts, filed a petition with the Board of Canvassers for a referendum on PA 1 of 2025. Public Act 1 of 2025 made changes to the minimum and tipped wages ordered by the Michigan Supreme Court in 2024 and preserved the tipped wage for restaurant servers.

Citizens can choose to file a referendum on any legislation passed and signed into law within 90 days of the end of the session it was passed. If enough signatures are collected and certified, Public Act 1 would be suspended until voters either choose to approve or reject the legislation during the election in November 2026.

NFIB supported the passage of Public Act 1 of 2025, which was a bipartisan effort to save tipped wages for restaurant servers and to slow future increases in the minimum wage.

Ban on Free Speech/Issue Advocacy Initiated Legislation (Michiganders for Money out of Politics)

This proposal would ban utilities and “major contractors” from engaging in any political spending or contributions for election purposes, limiting their free speech. It would also prevent any issue advocacy which is used in order to educate both the public and lawmakers on how certain policies would affect their constituencies. Most recently, NFIB employed issue advocacy to encourage elected officials in Congress to make the 20% Small Business Deduction permanent.

Ranked Choice Voting Constitutional Amendment (Rank MI Vote)

This would require ranked choice voting for Congress, Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General. It would also allow local jurisdictions to enact ranked choice voting. If passed, voters would be required to cast ballots ranking candidates in order of preference. Initially, only voters’ top choice is counted, but if no candidate has an immediate majority, the candidate with the least votes is eliminated. All the voters who chose the eliminated candidate then have their second-place votes distributed to the remaining contestants. The process repeats until one candidate has more than 50% of the vote. If adopted, Michigan would be the second state to use this process for both the primary and general elections.

Americans for Citizen Voting Constitutional Amendment
This proposal would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and to require a photo ID for in-person voting, eliminating a current option that allows voters without ID to sign an affidavit of identity under penalty of perjury.

* Paid petition gatherers are commonly compensated based on the number of valid signatures collected, meaning they are incentivized to convince voters to sign. Citizens should read the full petition before signing — especially because the 100-word summary may not provide an accurate or full description of the proposal.