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

Election lawyers from both sides of the political spectrum said Monday that Michigan Secretary of Jocelyn Benson correctly declined to issue a declarative ruling on whether the major party’s endorsement conventions were constitutional.

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 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.