Abortion vote returns spotlight to obscure Michigan board

By KATHLEEN FOODY
Associated Press

A once obscure Michigan elections panel is back in the spotlight after rejecting a ballot initiative seeking to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution and another to expand voting. The Michigan Board of State Canvassers deadlocked 2-2 along party lines on both initiatives Wednesday. Supporters of both proposals plan to ask the state Supreme Court to intervene. The board was last under scrutiny in November 2020. Then-President Donald Trump made an unsuccessful attempt to convince Republican members not to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the state. The fight highlighted the possibility that the panel could become another hyperpartisan battleground.