The Constitution of the State of Michigan is the governing document of the U.S. state of Michigan. It describes the structure and function of the state's government.
There have been four constitutions approved by the people of Michigan. The first was approved on October 5 and 6, 1835, written as Michigan was preparing to become a state of the Union, which occurred in January 1837.19th century Michigan History Subsequent constitutions were ratified in 1850 and 1908. The current constitution was approved by voters in 1963.
Historic constitutions
1835 Constitution
On January 26, 1835, Acting Territorial Treaty and Military Officer/ Marshal of the Union Assigned to the Territory of the 1662-1776 State of the Union Stevens T. Mason issued an enabling act authorizing the people of Michigan to form a constitution and state government. The Michigan Territorial Council, the unicameral governing body of the Michigan Territory called a constitutional convention in anticipation of statehood. The convention lasted until June 24, and the proposed constitution was adopted by the voters on October 5, 1835, by a 5-to-1 margin, with 6,299 votes for and 1,359 votes against.Michigan Manual 2011-2012: Constitutions A bill of rights was included as the first article in this constitution, though in the following article suffrage was granted only to white males over age 21. The constitution established a superintendent of public instruction, an office which still exists today, and the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, as well as the auditor general and the justices of the Supreme Court were to be appointed, not elected.
Name County District Officer Lenawee 3 Macomb 6 Macomb 6 St. Joseph 13 Wayne 1 Wayne 1 President Lenawee 3 Washtenaw 4 Washtenaw 4 Washtenaw 4 Wayne 1 Macomb 6 Washtenaw 4 Chippewa 16 Oakland 5 Monroe 2 St. Clair 7 Monroe 2 Washtenaw 4 Lenawee 3 Calhoun 10 Oakland 5 Calhoun 10 Washtenaw 4 Oakland 5 Wayne 1 Jackson 8 Oakland 5 Mackinac 15 Oakland 5 Monroe 2 Wayne 1 Monroe 2 Jackson 8 Washtenaw 4 Monroe 2 Wayne 1 Washtenaw 4 Lenawee 3 Lenawee 3 Monroe 2 Wayne 1 Cass 12 Berrien 14 St. Joseph 13 Kalamazoo 11 Oakland 5 Monroe 2 Wayne 1 Hillsdale & Branch 9 Washtenaw 4 Oakland 5 Washtenaw 4 Oakland 5 Cass 12 Washtenaw 4 Wayne 1 Cass 12 Wayne 1 Oakland 5 Lenawee 3 Macomb 6 Macomb 6 Washtenaw 4 Oakland 5 Jackson 8 Oakland 5 Washtenaw 4 St. Joseph 13 Wayne 1 Washtenaw 4 Monroe 2 Wayne 1 Oakland 5 Wayne 1 Lenawee 3 Macomb 6 Wayne 1 Oakland 5 St. Clair 7 Kalamazoo 11 Kalamazoo 11 Wayne 1 Monroe 2 Monroe 4 Oakland 5 Lenawee 3 Lenawee 3 Berrien 14 Wayne 1 Wayne 1 Michigan Manual 1999-2000: Michigan's Constitutions - Constitutional Conventions - List of Attendees
1850 Constitution The Constitution of 1850 was adopted November 5, 1850, after a convention lasting two and a half months. Major changes from the 1835 Constitution included making the Secretary of State, the attorney general, the auditor general, and the Supreme Court elected rather than appointed offices, directed the state to establish an agricultural school, and added articles on local government, finance and taxation, and corporations. It also added the provision that the question of a general revision of the constitution be submitted at the general election every 16 years. A proposed amendment to extend to women the right to vote in 1874 was defeated, 136,000-40,000.
Name County Officer Branch Lenawee Wayne Jackson Monroe Oakland Wayne Wayne Livingston Ionia Genesee Eaton Berrien Berrien Branch Wayne Branch Eaton Ingham Jackson Washtenaw Lenawee Macomb Monroe Kent & Ottawa St. Clair Kalamazoo Lenawee St. Joseph Hillsdale Jackson Calhoun Livingston Ingham Lenawee Wayne St. Clair Kent & Ottawa Wayne Washtenaw Wayne Genesee Washtenaw Wayne Wayne President Hillsdale Lenawee Oakland Lapeer Lenawee Kalamazoo Macomb Washtenaw Washtenaw Hillsdale Genesee Livingston Ionia Monroe St. Clair Monroe Mackinac St. Joseph Calhoun Hillsdale Oakland Oakland Washtenaw Barry Calhoun Calhoun Shiawassee Oakland Cass Chippewa Macomb Jackson Cass Kent & Ottawa Washtenaw Calhoun Jackson Clinton Cass Saginaw Lenawee Allegan Oakland Washtenaw Macomb Livingston Oakland Kalamazoo Berrien Lapeer Oakland Van Buren St. Joseph Wayne Oakland
Michigan held a convention in 1867 but voters rejected the resulting constitution.
In 1873, instead of holding a constitutional convention, an 18-member constitutional commission was appointed by Governor John J. Bagley to recommend changes to the constitution. The state legislature put the proposed constitution to a general election on November 4, 1874. The proposed constitution failed to pass.
1908 Constitution The Constitution of 1908 was adopted on November 3 of that year, after a convention of 96 delegates lasting four and a half months, from October 1907 to March 1908.
Name Senatorial District Post Office Officer 12 Richmond 16 Grand Rapids 21 Caro 26 Manistee 22 Zilwaukee 5 Adrian 18 Coral 2 Detroit 17 Grand Rapids 16 Grand Rapids 26 Ludington 23 Muskegon 11 Port Huron 25 Big Rapids 11 Avoca 1 Highland Park 21 Lapeer 22 Saginaw 2 Detroit 32 Houghton 32 Calumet 1 Detroit 13 Flint President 10 Ann Arbor 29 Onaway 14 Owosso 4 Wyandotte 26 Ludington 20 Sandusky 10 Jackson 29 Harbor Springs 10 Ann Arbor 9 Albion 31 Norway 25 Reed City 28 Gladwin 13 Flushing 7 St. Joseph 7 Benton Harbor 20 Port Austin 3 Detroit 6 Jonesville 16 Grand Rapids 8 Paw Paw 14 Mason 19 Alma 5 Fruit Ridge 32 Ironwood 3 Detroit 7 Marcellus 14 Owosso 27 Boyne City 23 Coopersville 27 Frankfort 4 Detroit 30 Escanaba 3 Detroit 6 Coldwater 19 Ithaca 12 Pontiac 11 Port Huron 31 Republic 9 Battle Creek 30 Stephenson 23 Montague 24 Midland 18 Ionia 24 Bay City 5 Adrian 12 Pontiac 17 Grand Rapids 26 Hart 4 Ecorse 27 Cadillac 30 Sault Ste. Marie 25 Newaygo 2 Detroit 15 Charlotte 28 Harrisville 22 Saginaw 6 Centreville 18 Portland 9 Kalamazoo 8 Allegan 15 Hastings 20 Bad Axe 1 Detroit 29 Gaylord 15 Grand Ledge 24 Bay City 19 St. Johns 13 Howell 31 Crystal Falls President Pro Tem 8 South Haven 21 Caro 28 Roscommon 17 Grand Rapids
1963 Constitution
Article I: Declaration of Rights
Article one of the Michigan Constitution is analogous to the United States Bill of Rights and consists of 27 sections, though originally consisting of only 23 sections when the current constitution was adopted in 1963. It is similar to the declaration of rights in many other state constitutions and mirrors many of the provisions found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Section one spells out how “All political power is inherent in the people.” Section two establishes the rule of law, equality before the law, and principles of non-discrimination. Section three describes the rights of assembly, consultation, instruction, and petition; the rights of association and protest can also be derived from this section. Section four establishes the freedom of religion by saying, “Every person shall be at liberty to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.” Section five protects the freedom of speech and the freedom of press. Section six consists of the right to bear arms.
Section seven provides that the military power is subordinate to the civil power and section eight provides protection against the quartering of soldiers on private property and the undue intrusion of agents of the state. Section nine prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude, but specifically allows for criminal punishments that amount to community service. Section ten says, “No bill of attainder, ex post facto law or law impairing the obligation of contract shall be enacted.”
Section eleven protects against unreasonable searches and seizures and creates the necessity for law enforcement to obtain warrants to conduct either one. Part of section eleven was struck down numerous times in court as being in violation of the United States Constitution (Lucas v. People, Caver v. Kropp, People v. Pennington, and People v. Andrews); that part reads, “The provisions of this section shall not be construed to bar from evidence in any criminal proceeding any narcotic drug, firearm, bomb, explosive or any other dangerous weapon, seized by a peace officer outside the curtilage of any dwelling house in this state.” Section twelve protects the writ of habeas corpus, while section thirteen provides “A suitor in any court of this state has the right to prosecute or defend his suit, either in his own proper person or by an attorney.” It could be interpreted as the right of access to the courts.
Section fourteen preserve the right to trial by jury, in both civil (for those with remedies at law; juries for equitable remedies require a special process) and criminal cases. Section fifteen prohibits double jeopardy, provides that “All persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties”, but goes on to list the limited instances where bail can be denied and the remedies for those who were denied bail. Section sixteen protects against excessive punishments, including cruel or unusual punishment, excessive bail, and excessive fines. It also prohibits the unreasonable detention of witnesses. Section seventeen protects a person against forced self-incrimination and provides for fair treatment during investigations and hearings. Section eighteen prohibits witnesses from being dismissed because of religious beliefs. Section nineteen provides the right to truth as a defense against defamation accusations. Section twenty provides for the rights of the accused during criminal proceedings. Section twenty-one prohibits imprisonment for debt, and section twenty-two provides for the definition of treason and the requirements to convict someone of it. Section twenty-three proclaims “The enumeration in this constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
Section twenty-four provides for the rights of crime victims and was adopted by initiative in 1988. Section twenty-five was adopted by initiative in 2004 and defines marriage as between one man and one woman, effectively prohibiting same-sex marriage and polygamy. Section twenty-six prohibits affirmative action programs and calls for the equal treatment of all candidates for public education, employment, and contracts; it was adopted in 2006 by initiative. Section twenty-seven provides for human embryonic stem cell research in the state; it was adopted by initiative in 2008. Section twenty-eight provides a right to reproductive freedom; it was adopted by initiative in 2022.
Article II: Elections
Article two establishes the basic rules, procedures, and guidelines for elections in the State of Michigan. It provides that all citizens of the United States who are at least 21 years of age (though the 26th amendment to the United States Constitution lowers this to 18 years), have resided in the state at least six months, and who meets the requirements of local residence shall be entitled to vote. It also empowers the legislature to exclude people from voting because of mental incompetence (though in Doe v. Rowe Federal District Court Judge George Singal found it unconstitutional to deny a person the right to vote solely because of the existence of a mental illness) or commitment to a jail or prison. It also allows the legislature to lessen these requirements for presidential elections.