MICHIGAN — A petition started by the group Unlock Michigan and aiming to repeal the Emergency Powers of Governor Act of 1945 has received the required 500,000 signatures,
The Emergency Powers of Governor Act of 1945 allows governors to issue state of emergencies during a crisis and has been used frequently amid the coronavirus pandemic by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
In a news release, Unlock Michigan, a group of Michigan residents who oppose Whitmer’s emergency declarations, said it would turn the petition in to the bureau of elections “soon.”
“We’ve succeeded in collecting more than a half-million signatures from Michigan voters in fewer than 80 days, an historic accomplishment at a pivotal point in Michigan’s history,” Unlock Michigan Co-Chair Ron Armstrong said in a statement. “This initiative isn’t about any one rule, or any one personality. This proposed law simply takes away the ability of a single politician to rule like a monarch for as long as they like. That’s a power that no politician of any party should ever have.”