A special election to fill the vacancy in the Michigan Senate's competitive 35th District could sway the power dynamic in Lansing.

House Speaker Matt Hall celebrated the news, calling ranked choice voting a "scheme to complicate and hijack our elections."

Updated 2:32 p.m. Rank MI Vote, the grassroots organization pushing for a ballot initiative to establish ranked choice voting in Michigan, has paused its statewide efforts to get that measure on the 2026 ballot.

A campaign for a 2026 ballot measure to overhaul Michigan elections by allowing voters to rank their preferred candidate in order of preference has halted its signature collection efforts. "Rank MI Vote has paused its statewide signature gathering as it builds momentum toward an eventual statewide win for Ranked Choice Voting in Michigan,

Mike Rogers, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, has created a "Faith Coalition" campaign leadership team made up of pastors and political figures who have promoted baseless claims about election fraud and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.

A charter amendment can be placed on the ballot via an initiatory petition, signed by 5% of the city’s registered voters ― that's roughly 26,000 signatures ― or by a 3/5 vote of the Detroit City Council ― that's six votes.