Let Michigan Voters — Not Party Insiders — Choose Their Nominees
Let Michigan Voters — Not Party Insiders — Choose Their Nominees
The Issue
In Michigan, a handful of party insiders are quietly deciding who gets to run for attorney general, secretary of state, and seats on the state Supreme Court — before most voters have even heard the candidates' names.
It's called an endorsement convention. And it's happening right now.
Both the Michigan Republican Party and the Michigan Democratic Party hold these closed events — limiting participation to credentialed delegates or paid party members — to handpick their preferred nominees for some of the most powerful offices in the state. The candidate who walks away with a party endorsement gains an enormous advantage: months of extra fundraising time, institutional support, and a head start on messaging that most other candidates simply cannot match.
This isn't a primary. The public doesn't vote. Ordinary Michigan residents aren't invited.
Republicans formalized their early convention in 2022, explicitly describing it as a "six-month advantage" for endorsed candidates. Democrats followed a similar path. The result is a system where party machinery — not voters — sets the terms of every major statewide race before the August primary ballot is even printed.
That's not how democracy is supposed to work.
The offices being decided this way matter enormously. The attorney general enforces Michigan's laws. The secretary of state oversees elections. Supreme Court justices shape the rights of every person in this state. These are not positions that should be pre-selected in a convention hall by a few hundred delegates.
Michigan voters deserve the right to evaluate candidates on their own terms — not after one candidate has already been handed a six-month head start by insiders who answer to the party, not the public.
We're calling on the Michigan Legislature to reform the state's endorsement convention system and ensure that all major party nominees for statewide office are determined through open, publicly accessible primaries — where every registered voter has an equal voice.
The people of Michigan should choose their leaders. Not the parties.
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The Issue
In Michigan, a handful of party insiders are quietly deciding who gets to run for attorney general, secretary of state, and seats on the state Supreme Court — before most voters have even heard the candidates' names.
It's called an endorsement convention. And it's happening right now.
Both the Michigan Republican Party and the Michigan Democratic Party hold these closed events — limiting participation to credentialed delegates or paid party members — to handpick their preferred nominees for some of the most powerful offices in the state. The candidate who walks away with a party endorsement gains an enormous advantage: months of extra fundraising time, institutional support, and a head start on messaging that most other candidates simply cannot match.
This isn't a primary. The public doesn't vote. Ordinary Michigan residents aren't invited.
Republicans formalized their early convention in 2022, explicitly describing it as a "six-month advantage" for endorsed candidates. Democrats followed a similar path. The result is a system where party machinery — not voters — sets the terms of every major statewide race before the August primary ballot is even printed.
That's not how democracy is supposed to work.
The offices being decided this way matter enormously. The attorney general enforces Michigan's laws. The secretary of state oversees elections. Supreme Court justices shape the rights of every person in this state. These are not positions that should be pre-selected in a convention hall by a few hundred delegates.
Michigan voters deserve the right to evaluate candidates on their own terms — not after one candidate has already been handed a six-month head start by insiders who answer to the party, not the public.
We're calling on the Michigan Legislature to reform the state's endorsement convention system and ensure that all major party nominees for statewide office are determined through open, publicly accessible primaries — where every registered voter has an equal voice.
The people of Michigan should choose their leaders. Not the parties.
30
The Decision Makers
Supporter Voices
Petition created on April 1, 2026