November 11, 2005

Judges Clear Way for Vote on Amending Michigan Constitution to Ban Preferences

By PETER SCHMIDT and ANNE K. WALTERS

Michigan's affirmative-action battle is not over yet.

Last week a three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals ordered the state Board of Canvassers to certify a November 2006 ballot measure that would amend the state's constitution to ban race- and gender-based preferences in university admissions.

Opponents of the measure had argued that the organization behind it, the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, had tricked people into signing the petitions needed to put it on the