Your ballot may contain three sections:
PARTISAN
NONPARTISAN (candidates don't have party affiliation listed on the ballot)
PROPOSAL

PARTISAN OFFICES:
Voters may quickly vote a Straight Ticket for all candidates of one political party.
OR a Split Ticket by overriding their Straight Ticket choice for any office.
OR a Mixed Ticket by selecting each office individually and not selecting a party.

If you vote a "straight ticket," only the partisan offices are included. The following offices (at the state level) are not included: Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Although Supreme Court candidates are usually nominated by political parties, their names appear on the "nonpartisan" portion of the ballot.

BALLOT PROPOSALS (state level)

The Michigan Constitution provides for enactment of laws and constitutional amendments that require a vote of Michigan voters. Either the Legislature or a group of committed citizens can work to put an issue on the ballot to be voted on by Michigan citizens. There are four ways for a proposal to get onto the ballot.

1) In the case of the Legislature, any bill that does not appropriate money can have a provision that requires a majority vote by the people (as well as the Governor's signature) before the law goes into effect. This is called a Legislative Referendum.

Example: None in 2006; many bond, tax, and utility rate proposals, among others, over time.

2) Voter Referendum is the power to approve or reject a law enacted by the Legislature. People who do not like a new law can get citizens to sign petitions to put the issue to a vote of the people. If they gather enough signatures for the issue to be put on the ballot, the law in question is suspended until after the vote is taken at the next general election.

Example: November 2006 Ballot Proposal 06-3 on dove hunting.

3) Statutory Initiative is the power of the people of Michigan to propose laws and to enact and reject laws. People who want a new law gather signatures on petitions to the Legislature asking the Legislature to act on the proposed legislation. If the Legislature doesn't enact the law without modification within a specified time period, the proposed legislation goes on the ballot for the next general election. If the proposal passes, it becomes law with or without approval of the Governor and cannot subsequently be changed or repealed except by the voters or by a three-fourths vote of both houses of the Legislature.

Example: November 2006 Ballot Proposal 06-5 on mandatory school funding.

4) A Constitutional Amendment to the Michigan Constitution can be proposed by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature or by petitions signed by at least ten percent of the number of people who cast votes in the most recent governor's race.

Example: November 2006 Ballot Proposal 06-1 on Department of Natural Resources Funds, Proposal 06-2 on affirmative action, and Proposal 06-4 on eminent domain.

For more information, see the Michigan Citizens Research Council, the Michigan Manual (Chapter IX - Elections) or the Michigan Constitution. The Michigan Manual has lists of all initiatives and referenda from 1964 - 2005.