Opinion ID: 4558221
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Michigan’s Response to COVID-19

Text: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has issued numerous executive orders in response to COVID-19. On March 23, 2020, she issued a “Stay-at-Home Order” that required, among other things, all persons not performing essential or critical infrastructure job functions to stay in their place of residence other than in certain limited circumstances—such as to buy groceries, care for loved ones or engage in outdoor activities—while observing proper social-distancing 1Graveline is on appeal before a different panel of this court, and so the interim signature requirement is still in effect. No. 20-1661 Kishore, et al. v. Whitmer, et al. Page 3 guidelines. Mich. Exec. Order No. 2020-21, available at https://bit.ly/3kB2DqE. This Stay-atHome Order was to be in effect through April 13, 2020, but Governor Whitmer subsequently extended it through April 30, see Mich. Exec. Order No. 2020-42, available at https://bit.ly/31FPynb, then through May 15, see Mich. Exec. Order No. 2020-59, available at https://bit.ly/33QCCh8, and then again through May 28, see Mich. Exec. Order No. 2020-77, available at https://bit.ly/3gTheLS. Then, on June 1, Governor Whitmer issued two executive orders that permitted the reopening of many businesses in the state and allowed groups of persons not part of a single household to gather outside in limited numbers. See Mich. Exec. Order No. 2020-110, available at https://bit.ly/2XXGN6K; Mich Exec. Order No. 2020-115, available at https://bit.ly/31RcdwS. C. Plaintiffs’ Campaign and Signature-Gathering Efforts Plaintiffs announced their candidacies in January 2020. They immediately began organizing a series of meetings and public events in Michigan to launch the campaign. They hosted an event at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on February 24, and a second event at Wayne State University in Detroit on February 27. However, the events netted no signatures on their qualifying petition. Thereafter, Kishore traveled to California and hosted several events, but he again failed to receive any qualifying signatures. Kishore returned to Michigan in early March and still had obtained no signatures. At this point he decided to cancel all subsequent public events and campaign activity, including signature-gathering initiatives, in order to protect his campaign staff from COVID-19. Thus, Plaintiffs had the opportunity to collect signatures on their qualifying petition with no restriction from any of Governor Whitmer’s executive orders from the beginning of their campaign (January 18) to the date of Governor Whitmer’s first Stay-at-Home Order (March 23). Plaintiffs have also had the opportunity to gather signatures in person from the date of the reopening orders (June 1) to the filing deadline (July 16). Yet, in all this time, Plaintiffs have not obtained a single signature on their qualifying petition. No. 20-1661 Kishore, et al. v. Whitmer, et al. Page 4 D. Proceedings Below Plaintiffs sued various state officials in federal court on June 18. In their complaint, Plaintiffs alleged that the Stay-at-Home Order makes Michigan’s ballot-access laws unconstitutional as applied to them because those requirements “are literally impossible for the Plaintiffs to fulfill during the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.” R. 1 at PageID 2. Plaintiffs requested a preliminary injunction restraining the State from enforcing its ballot-access laws.