The citizen only voting ballot initiative, now in the petition gathering stage will be the topic of the Eastside Republican Club Forum at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 21, at The War Memorial.

Discussing the process and the initiative will be Meghan Reckling, former chair of the Livingston County Republican Party and previous member of the Michigan GOP State Committee.

“Meghan Reckling has become an authority on the citizen only voting ballot initiative and we look forward to hearing from her. This is critical to secure and fair elections,” said ERC Membership Committee chair Marie Hackleman in a statement in advance of the Forum.

Forum doors open at 7 p.m. for coffee and networking in advance of the meeting.

While in high school, Reckling was active in both the local and statewide chapters of the TeenAge Republicans.

Reckling attended Michigan State University, where she studied political science. By 2004 she took a full-time position as legislative assistant and later rose to the position of Legislative Director working for a number of State Representatives including Lana Theis, who named Reckling Chief of Staff.

Petitions will be available for attendees both to sign and to take with them to assist in collecting the thousands of signatures needed for the proposal to qualify to be placed on the November 2026 ballot. For those who cannot attend, petitions can be obtained from Americans for Citizen Voting at michcov.com.

Reckling and her husband, Mark, a law enforcement officer for over 19 years, reside near Lansing with their two children.