By Paul Rincon | August 3, 2021
Voters Not Politicians is working with numerous allied organizations to combat both in the legislature and in the field the efforts by extremists here in Michigan, in coordination with national organizations, to roll back voting rights in Michigan. Join us!
Of the 39 anti-voter bills that were introduced in the Senate at the end of March, not a single one has passed the Legislature, thanks to the vocal opposition of voters like our Dial For Democracy volunteers. DFD volunteers put pressure on their state officials whenever any such extremist legislation comes up for a vote. Volunteers made 3,966 calls to targeted legislators within days of learning of the impending bill package. In addition, 594 DFD volunteers made 651 in-district constituent phone calls to their elected officials, successfully throwing a wrench in the plans of extreme politicians.
Sign up for Dial for Democracy here!
With the Governor’s likely veto of any such measures, the real threat lies in the GOP’s plan to use the “adopt and amend” ballot tactic to bypass both the voters and the Governor. To counter this threat, VNP is building our volunteer army and sounding an alarm with the public.
Of our 310 Freedom to Vote volunteers, 97 have been trained as a part of our Advance Teams. The Advance Teams will be our first line of defense to spot anti-voting circulators, identify recurring circulator positions, and capture and elevate the misleading messages circulators use to trick voters into signing.
We have Advance Teams in positions across the state. We are currently recruiting volunteer leaders, in particular in Wayne County, to plan and execute training sessions.
Sign up and select ‘I am interested in leading a team of volunteers in my community’ here!
Given that this anti-voter agenda is being fueled by the blatant lies about the 2020 election, voter education will be critical. VNP’s Freedom to Vote campaign has generated 77 press hits in state and national media and volunteers have published 18 letters to the editors of local media. VNP is hitting the road and organizing educational events across the state. We have already held community forums in Bay City and Kalamazoo, and have another scheduled on Aug 2 in Traverse City. Finally, we are preparing to canvass at both doors and high-traffic tabling opportunities like fairs and festivals, to educate voters on these threats to voting. Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and the Michigan Republican Party have publicized far and wide their plan to advance an extreme anti-voter agenda using anti-democratic means. Our response: Not on our watch! After all of the work we’ve done to make sure every vote counts in Michigan, Voters Not Politicians will not allow politicians to once again try to choose their own voters. We’re calling on you to fight back now.