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It’s hard to ‘fix’ a law that a hefty majority of Michiganders like, even when it needs some ‘fixing.’ Two prime examples are the 1976 “Throwaway Bottle Law” and the 2018 “Voters Not Politicians” (VNP) constitutional amendment creating an independent commission to redistrict the state’s Congressional and legislative seats every 10 years. The former passed […]

MICHIGAN CHAPTER IN 2024 ALMANAC OF AMERICAN POLITICS IS A MUST READ! July 24, 2023 by tbreport 1 Comment (Edit) The Ballenger Report reminds you that the 2024 Almanac of American Politics will be released next month (August, 2023) and can be purchased online at https://www.thealmanacofamericanpolitics.com/ or by calling 1-888-265-0600. Use the code “BALLENGER15” for […]

REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD. WHO SHOULD BE FORCED TO EAT IT? It took two decades, but the Michigan Republican Party’s hegemony over the state’s judiciary assembled by John Engler before he left the governor’s office in 2002 has been destroyed. Everybody knows that. But how did that happen? The GOP did it […]

REDISTRICTING COMMISSIONER TURMOIL AND QUESTION OF WHETHER MICHIGAN MAPS VIOLATE THE FEDERAL VOTING RIGHTS ACT (VRA) The final weeks of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022-2023 term have yielded a decision that has sparked not just one but TWO potential maelstroms involving the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC). First, the federal high bench, in a […]

 NESSEL AND BENSON PLOD DOWN THE ‘DARK MONEY’ PATH Secretary of State Jocelyn BENSON recently asked a legislative panel to give her department subpoena power to investigate campaign finance or lobbying law violations as a way to help bring Michigan from “worst to first” in government transparency and ethics requirements. As part of a sweeping […]

Question 1): Gov. Gretchen Whitmer earlier this month opined that, as far as she is concerned, Michigan’s presidential primary will take place on Feb. 27, 2024, as currently scheduled, despite a push from legislative Republicans to shift the date back into early March. The governor didn’t specify how Michigan Democrats would make the primary happen […]

Question 1): A couple of week ago, the U.S. Supreme Court stepped back from the brink of totally gutting the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA). By a 5-to-4 vote, in the case of Allen v. Milligan, a coalition of conservative and liberal justices reaffirmed the court’s 1986 precedent interpreting how legislative districts must be […]

Question 1): Week before last, on the Grand Hotel porch of Mackinac Island, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced she was appointing a “Growing Michigan Together Council.” Why? Because Michigan is one of the slowest-growing states in the country. In fact, we aren’t growing at all. Michigan lost more population in the first decade of the 21st […]

U.S. SENATE CONUNDRUM; POSSIBLE RECESSION; A DEMOCRATIC BUDGET BUCKET LIST Question 1): Michigan Board of Education President Pamela PUGH two weeks ago became the latest Democrat to announce she is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by retiring U.S. Sen. Debbie STABENOW (D-Lansing) in 2024. Pugh has twice been elected statewide to the […]

 Michiganders need to get a grip on how much their elected officials are being paid. BOB LaBRANT: Abolish the State Officers Compensation Commission. Replace it with an automatic Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustment. “After 55 years, it is time to amend the Michigan Constitution and abolish the State Officers Compensation Commission (SOCC), which since 1968 […]