The Michigan Supreme Court ruled by split decision that the proposed January 15, 2008 Michigan Presidential Primary Election IS CONSTITUTIONAL.

The Supreme Court now joins Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) and Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land (R) in propagating the fallacy that the public interest will be served by Democrat and Republican Presidential Primary Candidates suddenly discovering before January 15, 2008 "the Michigan issues" not prevalent in early Presidential Primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire, etc.

Instead, the candidates have been scaring the daylights out of voters by promising tougher job-killing gasoline standards for Michigan-made cars. Legal briefs and Court Orders also failed to reflect the inevitable irritation of Michigan families whose Christmas seasons will be impaired by incessant radio and TV political ads paid for by Presidential Primary Candidates demanding US pullout of Michigan military personnel in Iraq while those in Congress cut the funding our fighting patriots need to win the war against terrorists endangering US homeland security.

Besides, most voters don't want to give up their constitutionally guaranteed right to cast a secret ballot on January 15 just so the Democratic and Republican Parties can glean political mailing lists from the Michigan Secretary of State record of whether they voted on the Democrat or Republican ballot.

The highest court ruling came just days after both the Michigan Court of Appeals and Ingham County Circuit Court Chief Judge William Collette agreed the attempt by Chairmen Mark Brewer of the Michigan Democratic Party, Chairman Saul Anuzis of the Michigan Republican Party and Michigan Secretary of State Land to give exclusive commercial ownership rights to the two major political party chairmen to copy and sell the names and addresses of all voters in the Jan. 15 Election WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.

The final four Supreme Court Justices ruled against Plaintiff Mark Grebner (Grebner vs Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land; Michigan Supreme Court Docket No. 135274) and Amicus Curiae (Friend of the Court) supporters of the Plaintiffs.

Grebner willingly disclosed he has a vested financial interest in who controls the records of Democrat and Republican voters on January 15, 2008. Grebner makes his living through Practical Political Consultants in E. Lansing by assembling and selling mailing lists to political parties and candidates for campaign fundraising, and for targeting homes to be bombarded for the next six weeks with political campaign literature mixed with treasured Christmas cards and letters.

Michigan Supreme Court Justices Clifford Taylor (R), Maura Corrigan (R), Robert P. Young Jr. (R) and Stephen Markman (R) approved the disputed state law (Public Act 52 of 2007) enacted last August by Michigan's State legislature to allow Brewer and Anuzis, heads of supposedly private entities, to have free access and sole ownership of Presidential Primary voting records, thereby excluding Grebner and his company from equal access.

With the exception of McMaster and Taxpayers United, no persons of interest in the legal proceedings expressed concern for the secret ballot constitutional rights of citizens voting either as a Democrat or Republican on Jan. 15, 2008.

Why isn't every state government official and every member of the news media protesting the way government and the courts are dealing away the very personal identity of unsuspecting good citizens as a consequence of voting as a Democrat or Republican on Jan. 15, 2008?

Bill McMaster, State Chairman (Volunteer) of Taxpayers United Michigan Foundation, Michigan's oldest (1977) nonpartisan, nonprofit statewide grassroots taxpayer organization engaged in citizen education in the public interest, has been issuing Amicus Curiae (Friend of the Court) briefs since the case was filed three weeks ago.

"The ruling of the Four Controlling Supremes is a travesty of justice," McMaster said from the Press Room in the State Capitol shortly after the Order remanding the case back to trial court Judge Collette was issued. "Every fifth grader knows our forefathers prohibited rigging elections for private profit at the exploited expense of categorized voters. That's still in our US and Michigan Constitutions today."

"State Legislators won't return from their two-week deer hunting vacations until next week, so they can't re-legislate Public Act 52 of 2007 to take out several unconstitutional segments inherent in the Order to reschedule the January 15, 2008 Open Presidential Primary Election in Michigan," McMaster noted. "And Ingham County Circuit Court Chief Judge Collette can't reverse his Order as commanded by the four Controlling Supremes until the Circuit Court reopens for judicial process after the long Thanksgiving weekend."

"We in Taxpayers United can't accept the ruling of the Controlling Supremes to become precedent in Michigan Election Law," McMaster stated. "If a 2/3rds self-serving majority in both the Michigan Senate and House do revise the Presidential Primary enabling law next week, Taxpayers United must file a new lawsuit in the public interest to protect our constitutionally guaranteed purity of elections and secret ballot."

"If Taxpayers United allows the Nov. 21 Supreme Order to stand, the Order will make Michigan the first State in American history to corrupt traditional election practices under color of law," McMaster reported. "We feel compelled to bring a new court action in defense of our voting rights guaranteed in both our Federal and Michigan Constitutions.

The Supreme Court Order opened the door for new legal challenge by Taxpayers United when the following quote was included in its document: "This order addresses only the question whether Public Act 52 violates Michigan Constitution, Article 2, Section 4, and Article 4, Section 30, the only issues addressed by the lower courts. In particular, this order does not address the validity of Public Act 52 under any other provision of the federal or state constitutions, and it does not address whether Public Act 52 in inconsistent with any other provision of federal or state law."

McMaster described the following issues still corrupting the Jan. 15, 2008 Michigan Presidential Election which could have been resolved by inclusion in the Nov. 21, 2007 Order by the Final Four Supremes, but weren't:

1: Michigan's proposed January 15, 2998 "Open" Presidential Primary
Election would actually be "Closed" to at least 81% of Michigan's 7.2
million registered voters. In truth, Michigan's "Open" Presidential Primary is "an oxymoron."

2: Only voters willing to declare on permanent public records that they
are Democrats or Republicans would be allowed to vote on January 15, 2008.
There's no longer a secret ballot when City Hall personnel, paid and
volunteer election workers publish the names, addresses and Democrat or
Republican Party designation garnered from precinct, local and state
government voting day records and Absentee Voters.

3: Michigan Supreme Court Justices, Gov. Granholm and Secretary of
State Land are either Democrats or Republicans. All but the three Supreme
Court Justices who opined the early Presidential Primary was clearly
unconstitutional, allowed their personal vested interests, and political
conflicts of interest, to cloud their sworn oaths to uphold our
Constitutions and good judgment mandating paramount concern for the public
interest.

4: Michigan Republican Party Chairman, Saul Anuzis, predicted as many
as a million Republicans would vote January 15, 2008. Democrat Party
Chairman Mark Brewer estimated 400,000 would turn out because only US
Senator Clinton and Congressman Dennis Kucinich would be on the
Presidential Primary ballot and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (Dem) has
already endorsed Hillary.

5: Using the predictions of Anuzis and Brewer, only 1.4 million voters
of 7.2 million registered voters statewide could be expected to turn out
for their "Open" Presidential Primary Election.

6: Secretary of State Land estimates it will cost taxpayers $10 million
to conduct the Jan. 15 Election for Democrats and Republicans only.

7: Independents and citizens who may vote for Presidential candidates
from the five "minor" political parties certified to be on the November 4,
2008 General Election ballot in Michigan have been disenfranchised from
voting on January 15, 2008.

8: Because of a then-unrelated Michigan Court of Appeals ruling last
month, Senior citizens and snowbirds will no longer automatically receive
their Absentee Ballots in the mail from City or Township Clerks. Clerks
have to expect Seniors will not likely accept being forced by City Hall
demands to give up good citizenship identity by telling anonymous local,
county and state Clerks, neighbor election volunteers, and elected Democrat and Republican Party Precinct Delegates on the phone whether they want the Democrat or Republican Absentee Ballot mailed to their homes.

9: Many seniors in Taxpayers United who have just learned about the new
Absentee Voter law are deciding it's simply not worth the trouble and risk
of identity theft to vote in Michigan any more.

10: Michigan's Supreme Court determined the constitutionality of the
Motor Voter Law in time for the 2006 General Election. Illegal immigrants
have been routinely issued legal driver's licenses every day since by the
Michigan Secretary of State. Despite the national debate emanating out of
New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer, Presidential Primary Candidates US Senators
Clinton and Obama have been able to avoid the issue of undocumented
immigrants using legal driver's licenses with photo ID's like those issued
by Defendant Michigan Secretary of State in this case, to fraudulently vote and achieve the appearance of compliance with Congress' recent mandate for US citizens to be allowed to use Michigan driver's licenses to obtain US passports to show when crossing Michigan's expansive borders with Canada.

11: State legislators authorizing the January 15 Election slipped a
secret provision into election law which reverses earlier Election Law
requiring school elections to be conducted at the same time as November
General Elections in Michigan. General Elections attract the greatest
number of homeowners voting. Lobbyists for the Michigan Education
Association (union), Michigan Association of School Administrators, and
etc. have for decades scheduled school millage increase elections to result in voter turnouts of less than 10%. Now they're trying to undo the
corrective legislation championed by former State Representative Ruth
Johnson (R-Holly), former candidate for Lt. Governor, current Oakland
County Clerk and Register of Deeds, by convincing Michigan Supreme Court
Justices that the school election decision is still Constitutional because
Public Act 52 of 2007 authorizing the Jan. 15, 2008 Presidential Primary in question in this case (Grebner vs Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, MI Supreme Court Docket No. 135274) contains an all or nothing severability clause.

12: Most legislators, lobbyists and Gov. Granholm want 1992 Term Limits
expanded with a Legislative Initiative to hurriedly amend our Michigan
Constitution by putting Term Limits on the Jan. 15, 2008 Presidential
Primary Election. Taxpayers United recently discovered the intent of
self-serving State Senators and State Representatives is to extend their
current elected terms in office by taking advantage of the Secretary of
State's court order to prohibit 81% of Michigan voters from participating
in the January 15, 2008 Michigan Presidential Primary.

13: Both the Democrat and Republican National Committees have vowed to
punish all 10 million Michigan residents if the Early Presidential Primary
is held by taking away some or all of Michigan delegate votes at national
party conventions next August, or Electoral College Votes after the
November 4, 2008 Presidential General Election. Both Brewer and Anuzis
declare their National Committees won't but both have been wrong before on
the Early Michigan Primary.

14: Ingham County Circuit Court Chief Judge William Collette, after
Hearing and Oral Argument, issued an Order concluding on November 9, 2007:
"Defendant Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land is unconditionally restrained and enjoined from conducting the January 15, 2008 Open Presidential Primary Election in Michigan."

15: Both Public Act 52 concerning the Primary, and the anticipated
Legislative Initiative on Term Limits, would violate the Michigan
Constitution, Article 2, Section 4, which states in part: "The legislature
shall enact laws to preserve the purity of elections, to preserve the
secrecy of the ballot, to guard against abuses of the elective franchise,
and to provide for a system of voter registration and absentee voting."

16: The US Constitution, Article 6, Section 1, states: "The right of
citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on
account of age.

Source: "Millions of Voters Disenfranchised by 4-3 Ruling of Michigan Supreme Court are Considering New Lawsuit to Again Cancel Corrupted Jan. 15, 2008 Early Primary", PRNewswire-USNewswire, November 24, 2007.