A Michigan ballot campaign to ban fracking has gathered a lot of names over the last few months, but not enough to meet a self imposed October deadline.

The Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan gathered roughly 70,000 signatures between April and October of this year. That’s more than
double the number collected in their 2012 effort. Unfortunately, they need 258,088 valid signatures to put the issue before voters.

Their proposed initiative seeks to prohibit horizontal fracking and frack waste in the state. Michigan’s Chamber of Commerce has opposed the effort with a statewide campaign that has included billboards and online videos.

The committee is now considering its next step. According an online statement, they could continue to gather signatures or relaunch the campaign this December to make the official May 2014 deadline.

“Our only obstacle is getting enough people out there for longer periods of time and to do that, we need the financial resources to pay
knowledgeable, dedicated workers to gather signatures in the volumes necessary to get on the ballot,” said Peggy Case, a committee spokeswoman and president of Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation.

The Committee to Ban Fracking is seeking support from concerned citizens to hire experienced circulators to collect the required number of signatures in the state’s designated six month time frame. For more information visit letsbanfracking.org