The group Voters Not Politicians has asked the Board of State Canvassers for a speedy certification of the more than 425,000 signatures submitted for its ballot proposal to set up an independent redistricting campaign in Michigan.

At the board's Thursday meeting, Voters Not Politicians founder Katie Fahey and campaign counsel Jim Lancaster said the group's signatures were collected in 110 days, and that it's been more than 140 days since the signatures were submitted in December 2017. The group contends at least 92 percent of the signatures are valid.

"We have the signatures. They have been verified. They are not challenged," Lancaster said in a statement. "We expect the board to put the measure on the ballot at its next meeting."

When asked about the speed of the petition certification process compared to other initiatives that have come before the board, including the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, Elections Director Sally Williams said because the Voters Not Politicians proposal is a constitutional amendment, the timeline is a little more complicated.

"It's not an apples to apples comparison when you have different thresholds," she said.

Secretary of State spokesperson Fred Woodhams said he anticipates the Bureau of Elections will have a report on the Voters Not Politicians proposal to present to the Board of State Canvassers later this month.

He added that elections staff are currently working to review the petitions of gubernatorial, Congressional and judicial candidates, which are due to be canvassed by June 5. The deadline to file petitions for constitutional amendments is July 9.

Fahey said "people have worked hard" to see the independent redistricting plan head to the ballot, and she said she remains optimistic that the state board will move to certify the signatures soon.

The ask for quicker consideration comes as Voters Not Politicians faces a challenge from the group Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution over the initiative's contents.

The group said in a lawsuit filed in April that Voters Not Politicians didn't list all of the sections of the state constitution that would be abrogated by the plan, and therefore shouldn't be placed on the ballot.

Citizens Protecting Michigan's Constitution also argues Voters Not Politicans' initiative is a "massive revision" of the constitution, not an amendment.

"Michigan citizens have the authority to initiate amendments to the State Constitution but they are not allowed to make massive revisions to the Constitution in a single proposal," the group said in a recent press release.

In an internal memo, Lancaster refuted those legal claims, noting that although Voters Not Politicians' initiative is complex, it only deals with the issue of redistricting and does not attempt to change other facets of the constitution.

"The complexity of our proposal the CPMC complains of should not keep it off the ballot," he wrote.

Lancaster also expressed confidence Voters Not Politicians adequately addressed the issue of abrogation when reviewing the plan and would prevail in court.