Voters Not Politicians is a nonpartisan advocacy organization that works to effect structural and systemic democracy reform through the engagement of everyday citizens in Michigan.
Our people-powered movement started when a small group of everyday Michiganders decided to take on the biggest problem in our political system: politicians who aren’t accountable to the people they represent. In the aftermath of the 2016 election, a group of political novices started organizing, and by 2018, we grew into a grassroots powerhouse of 6,500 volunteers who, against all odds, got a constitutional amendment proposal on the ballot and passed to establish the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission.
Now, Voters Not Politicians is the premier democracy reform organization in Michigan and is a powerful leader in setting the blueprint for democracy reform across the country.
Our thousands of volunteers are engaged, empowered, and committed to do more to restore political power back to the people. From leading the effort to engage with state legislators to pass good-governance reforms to building powerful communities of democracy activists across Michigan, our work to engage citizens in meaningful action to strengthen democracy ensures political power remains in the hands of the voters.
We envision a truly representative democracy, where the will of the voters drives government decision-making and public policy.
In recent years, because of work done by Voters Not Politicians and our pro-democracy allies, Michigan has become a national model of democracy reform.
Now we are preparing to continue this fight and do what’s necessary to protect our state’s democracy so that political power remains with the people of Michigan.
All political power is inherent in the people
The Michigan Constitution of 1963 begins with the following words: “All political power is inherent in the people.”
Our policy priorities center around the ways we can ensure political power remains with the people of Michigan.
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Michigan ranks at the bottom for ethics and transparency standards. Compared to other states, we have some of the worst state government transparency laws and ethics.
Luckily, there are robust, commonsense reforms that would bring Michigan’s ethics and transparency laws up to par with other states:
Money in politics is bad for democracy and reduces the political power of the people. Michiganders are fighting back against corporate political influence in our state government so we, the people, have an equal say over what happens in our communities.
We can no longer allow monopoly corporations and corporations seeking state contracts to buy their way out of accountability and drown out the voice of the people.
Together, we can take back our power and put an end to the undue influence corporations have in Lansing.
Every eligible Michigan voter deserves to exercise their constitutional right to vote without having to jump over hurdles and without fear of intimidation or harassment. Michigan voters should also be free to make their choices at the ballot without having to wade through an onslaught of disinformation and misinformation.
We support protecting and expanding access to the ballot and keeping Michigan elections secure.
Our commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Voters Not Politicians has always been a grassroots, volunteer-driven organization. As we’ve grown, we’ve had to figure out how to make sure our work is true to our values and that our organization reflects the people we serve, which is all of Michigan’s diverse population.
Since 2021, we’ve begun implementing new practices aimed at increasing diversity among our staff, Board, and volunteers, and operating with a lens of equity and inclusion in recruiting and programming. This includes:
Our work is centered around the first line of Michigan’s constitution: “All political power is inherent in the people.”
We can only build our capacity to serve all of Michigan’s people by ensuring that our VNP community is diverse, inclusive, and equitable.
We are committed to creating a space for activism that is welcoming and accessible to all in our movement to build a better democracy in Michigan.
Voters Not Politicians is a 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to strengthening democracy in Michigan by engaging citizens in projects and initiatives across the state. Contributions made to Voters Not Politicians are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.
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