Watch CBS News

State Board Of Canvassers Denies Opportunity For Minimum Wage Issue To Be On November Ballot

LANSING (WWJ) - The State Board of Canvassers Thursday denied a November ballot issue to allow voters to decide whether the minimum wage to rise to $10.10 by 2017.

The Board said the Raise Michigan Coalition didn't have enough valid signatures.

Frank Houston is a spokesperson with Raise Michigan addressed the main concern for the organization.

"The rules changes and challenges and the process by how they evaluated our petition changed weeks after the deadline," said Houston.

"Let's be clear - to get on the ballot and there are certain procedures you have to follow - and we followed them every step of the way, and then today that process changed. So when you are changing the rules in the waning hours of these sorts of important decisions - it makes it harder to see it as anything other than a setback."

Houston says the group is still deciding whether to challenge the Canvassers' decision.

The denial came after the pro-restaurant group "People Protecting Michigan Jobs" claimed thousands of the signatures were duplicates.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.