GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY
Let’s continue what we started and make our government accountable to the voters.
The passage of Voters Not Politicians’ redistricting reform amendment proved that Michigan voters care deeply about democracy. By establishing a fair, impartial, and transparent redistricting process so that voters choose their politicians — not the other way around — voters regained the ability to vote politicians out if they fail to serve our interests. But, how do voters hold our elected officials accountable to us while they are serving?
The answer? We can’t. Michigan ranks dead last among all states in government ethics, transparency, and accountability. We the voters see those results in our state government: from corruption scandals in the headlines to politicians who are accountable to their donors and lobbyists but not their constituents. We, the voters, deserve better.
Like ending gerrymandering, fixing this problem will require a robust, citizen-led effort. But an accountability campaign has the potential to transform our state government and put political power back in the hands of voters — not politicians.
Why Focus on “Accountability?”
Our state Constitution begins with, “All political power is inherent in the people.”
Accountability is at the core of our democracy, which is based on elected officials working on behalf of the people — their constituents. But lack of transparency, less experienced elected officials, and more money in politics (as well as the gerrymandered maps of Michigan’s past redistricting cycles) have meant that Michigan politicians have increasingly used their positions as elected officials to benefit themselves or their donors and special interest groups, not the people. From running cash-for-vote schemes to passing legislation that prop up their side business, politicians in Lansing are taking advantage of their power — the people’s power — to enrich themselves.
Why do we see so much corruption in Michigan politics? Michigan lacks even basic laws and systems that protect against corruption.
The good news? Voters can bring ethics, transparency, and accountability to Lansing, just like we ended gerrymandering. Together, Michiganders across the state and across the political spectrum can make our politicians accountable to voters.
Below are Voters Not Politicians’ policy priorities. Click to expand each issue to learn more.
These issues have been on the table for years, but not addressed.
Because of our overwhelming victory in 2018, Voters Not Politicians and our army of volunteers are a catalyst for change. We have taken tremendous steps to strengthen democracy together in Michigan, but we need to do more.
That means we need you!
We hope every Michigander will get involved in Voters Not Politicians’ next push to make our government work for us. We began hosting accountability and anti-corruption town halls across the state in the fall of 2019 and will continue in the new year, and we invite everyone to provide input and join us to strengthen our democracy. By bringing ethics, transparency, and accountability to Lansing, we can shed Michigan’s “F” grade in state integrity and clean up our government. We the voters achieved a huge win with redistricting reform in 2018. Let’s do it again with accountability in 2020.
Let’s continue what we started, and make our government accountable to the voters.
What can you do now?
- Sign up for the Voters Not Politicians newsletter to stay up to date on what we’re doing across Michigan.
- Sign up to volunteer and we’ll connect you to a team leader in your community! With your help, we can reach more voters across the state so they’re aware of these important issues.
- Start talking with friends and family about making Michigan politicians accountable to the voters.