Constitution protects small font size

[FriendlyFire]

EM petitions face challenge
Organization with tie to Republicans cites wording, font size

A campaign to repeal Michigan's controversial emergency manager law is being challenged over the font size and wording of petitions submitted to state election officials in late February.

Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility, an opposition group formed by a Republican political consulting firm, said in a challenge letter the petitions seeking the repeal of Public Act 4 2011 had an incomplete and misleading summary, failed to include certain information and contained a font size under the legal limit.

A group seeking to repeal the law that gives state-appointed managers broad powers to cancel labor union contracts said it turned in 226,637 signatures on Feb. 29, likely more than the 161,304 required to put the repeal question before voters in the Nov. 6 general election.

Petition headings are supposed to contain a 14-point font size, but the group, Michigan Forward, had petitions with font sizes between 10 and 12 points, said Bob LaBrant, spokesman for Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility.

"They've gone to all of the time and expense of the petition drive only to blow it with the wrong font size," LaBrant said.

LaBrant is senior counsel at The Sterling Corp., a Lansing-based firm that primarily works on Republican causes.

Unlike most groups pursuing initiative petitions, LaBrant said, Michigan Forward did not submit its petitions to the state Board of Canvassers for approval of the size and lettering.

Board approval is an optional step, said Fred Woodhams, spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office.

State election officials have until April 29 to count and verify signatures and submit a report to the state Board of Canvassers. At that meeting, the state Bureau of Elections will make its recommendation on whether the petitions were properly formatted, Woodhams said.

A Michigan Forward official did not return a phone call or email Monday seeking comment.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120410/POLITICS02/204100345#ixzz1rsOnb67L

EDIT: Basicly a repeal for a recall of the republican governor and citizens referendum to repeal a new law to go onto a ballout vote.
Democrates collected the required number of signatures
Republicans are saying that the font size is too small

 

[cardgame]

Constitution wasn't around for font size, therefore elastic clause. Your argument is invalid, Michigan repubs!

 

[Zelig]

This is stupid, these things should be in digital format with no specification of font size.

 

[ParkCungHee]

Constitution wasn't around for font size,

You think computers invented font size?

 

[cardgame]

Insofar as a standard? Yes.

Insofar as a concept? Obviously not.

 

[Tarquelne]

I'm pretty sure there's been at least one previous case, and the court decided *against* nitpicking. I think the complainants will need to demonstrate that the petition is deceptive or quite unclear, not just technically non-compliant.

And, IMO, if they want to push back against deceptive or unclear speech in politics they're picking a strange place to start. Perhaps they'd never before seen the *bad* side of spin? Is it a bunch of 5th graders? This all makes a lot more sense if it's a bunch of 5th graders.

Insofar as a concept? Obviously not.

This is incorrect. The words "thingamabob" and "slanty" (among others) and the phrases "letter pile" and "mess-o-Bs" entered the language hundreds of years ago when movable-type printing became common but the concept of a "font" had yet to be discovered. That wasn't until 1976, with a Xerox PARC researcher bit his tongue and accidentally uttered "font" rather than "set of letters forming the entirety of one typeface." The neologism caught on quickly.

 

[LucyDuke]

Unlike most groups pursuing initiative petitions, LaBrant said, Michigan Forward did not submit its petitions to the state Board of Canvassers for approval of the size and lettering.

Board approval is an optional step, said Fred Woodhams, spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office.

Legal limit?

 

[warpus]

The page margins of 1 and a half inches were also unconstitutional and racist. A state official tried to print out the petition with a landscape orientation but was shot in the face by an angry mob.

 

[Agent327]

I always wondered what the US consitution was for and now I know.

 

[Tycho]

They want to take our font sizes?

Quick! Organize into the National Font Association! The government can't take our NFA text!

 

[G-Max]

Is it a bunch of 5th graders? This all makes a lot more sense if it's a bunch of 5th graders.

I would have believed 3rd graders, but 5th graders would consider this totally stupid.

 

[cegman]

G-Max that is just because 5th graders hate font sizes. Their teachers are usually evil sticklers about it.

9th Graders would consider this standard operating procedure after 4 years of teachers forcing specific font sizes on them.

Michigan is going to heck in a hand basket so I don't really care who drags it down as long as they leave the UP alone.