Blog: Democracy Reform Strategy in Full Swing!

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Last month we announced the kick off of our fall field plan and we have hit the ground running. We started things off with an Anti-Corruption Webinar to discuss the ins and outs of our legislative goals and took to the doors in Benton Harbor and Wyoming to ensure elected officials hear from their constituents […]

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Newsletter: Summer Successes and Fall Priorities – What’s Next for Voters Not Politicians

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September 6, 2023 | Volume 5, No. 9 Hi friend, We’ve certainly had a busy summer here at Voters Not Politicians! (No such thing as an off-year for democracy.) This summer, we’ve seen continued progress in the grassroots lobbying, clerk engagement, and civic education programs that we launched way back at the beginning of the […]

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Spotlight: Former Librarian and New York Times Bestselling Children’s Book Author is Lending Her Support to our Development and Diversity Teams

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As Voters Not Politicians evolves, expands, and launches more pro-democracy programs across the state, we are also continuing to grow our staff, and bring in more talent and skills to help us fund the work that keeps Michigan’s democracy strong.  Debbie Diesen, our new Development Associate, is bringing her passion and dedication to support every […]

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Blog: Preview VNP’s Fall Field Strategy

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This month Voters Not Politicians is launching our legislative advocacy plans for the rest of this year! With this pro-democracy legislature, we have a real opportunity to advance key parts of the ethics and transparency bill package that VNP has been advocating for since 2021. Voters Not Politicians volunteers know too well that structural democracy […]

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Spotlight: Katie Costello, Creating Change in VNP Development

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You may have noticed a new name on emails from Voters Not Politicians in the last few months. For those who haven’t met her yet, we’d like to introduce you to the person who’s been strategizing, networking, and building our capacity to fund the grassroots pro-democracy movement that is transforming Michigan politics.  Meet Katie Costello, […]

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Blog: Implementing, and Improving on, Proposal 22-1

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Ethical standards for Michigan’s state officials are notoriously low. Michigan has the unenviable rank of 48th out of 51 states (plus the District of Columbia) for having some of the worst laws related to government ethics enforcement, transparency, and accountability. Voters Not Politicians has been advocating for a comprehensive platform of accountability measures since 2019, […]

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Spotlight: New Staffer Hopes to Add to the Passion of Our People-Powered Movement

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As the leading pro-democracy, grassroots group in Michigan, Voters Not Politicians has achieved amazing results through direct democracy – taking issues directly to the ballot and letting voters decide. But as we’ve evolved as an organization, we’ve recognized that lawmakers in Lansing are also looking to us for leadership on pro-democracy issues. We want to […]

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Blog: Why VNP’s Leadership Matters in the Legislature 

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May and June saw some incredible movement on pro-voter legislation in Lansing, with most of the “Prop 2” implementation bills moving through Michigan’s State House and Senate and awaiting Governor Whitmer’s signature. This marks a historic moment for Michigan and a new era for pro-voter, pro-democracy legislation in Lansing. Michigan is garnering attention nationwide for […]

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Blog: Empty Chairs at Empty Tables: Why it’s so hard to find a coffee hour with your legislator

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With the new pro-democracy majority in Lansing, Voters Not Politicians realized this legislative session was the perfect opportunity to launch a new volunteer program: Legislative Liaisons. These volunteers meet directly with their elected officials in the MI House and Senate to advocate for Voters Not Politicians’ legislative priorities, such as election funding and ethics reform. […]

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Blog: Advocating Our Priorities at Every Level

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Voters Not Politicians staff and volunteers have been busy! At the beginning of this year we identified three key  priorities, and have been working with the legislature to advance these reforms: Check out our progress: Volunteer legislative liaisons have attended more than 70 in-district coffee hours to discuss priority legislation with their senators and representatives. […]

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