The Headlines
There are only 34 days until voting starts in Michigan for the November election. Absentee ballots will be available for voters beginning next month, so it’s time for all hands on deck to contact voters and make sure they know that democracy is on the ballot this year, in races up and down the ballot.
In particular, election denialism is still alive and well in Michigan, and that’s why I’m excited to share that we are relaunching Voters Action Committee to support key pro-voter candidates for the Michigan House of Representatives and the Michigan Supreme Court.
And in some uplifting end-of-summer news, Voters Ed Fund again partnered with Oakland Forward and other community organizations to present the third annual F.E.E.D. (Freedom, Education, Empowerment, and Democracy) Day for families in Oakland County. We are proud to be part of what’s becoming a strong tradition each summer in Royal Oak Township.
The Details
Voters Action Committee Targets Election Deniers
In 2022, we launched Voters Action Committee to stand against election deniers running to take power away from voters and help elect a pro-voter majority to the Michigan legislature. That year we successfully led 13 pro-voter candidates to victory to secure majorities in the House and Senate, and they then passed dozens of bills that protect our elections from election deniers and extremists.
Unfortunately, there are still a vast number of candidates who refuse to commit to free and fair elections. There are also incumbents who have publicly supported anti-voter policies and legislation in order to preserve their own political power. We simply cannot allow those candidates to take power away from voters.
Voters Action Committee will be an added wall of defense against anti-democracy, fringe conspiracy theorists and the false claims of election fraud that have targeted Michigan voters. We will leverage our network of volunteers to keep candidates who would harm our elections out of office, and emphasize the necessity of removing those currently in office who would take political power away from the people of Michigan.
Voters Action Committee will be narrowly focused on a few key house districts, where we will call out election deniers and candidates who won’t commit to upholding our elections; lift up pro-democracy candidates; and advocate for common sense, pro-voter candidates to the state supreme court. By tailoring our approach to reach voters who may not be targeted by other get out the vote campaigns, we can make all the difference in Michigan’s election outcomes.
Freedom, Education, Empowerment, and Democracy Day
For the third year in a row, Voters Ed Fund partnered with Oakland Forward to sponsor F.E.E.D. Day in Royal Oak Township, a GOTV event and community resource fair for Oakland County residents. Local partners this year included Black Youth Vote Metro Detroit, United Way, Michigan Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Voting Access for All Coalition, and Black Voters Matter – Michigan.
The event was attended by approximately 200 community members and included live music, free food, backpack and toiletry giveaways, and information on Michiganders’ new voting rights thanks to the passage of Proposal 22-2. As our good friend Kermit Williams (co-director of Oakland Forward) pointed out, this event is starting to feel like a family reunion! Voters Ed Fund is happy to have the opportunity to serve and inform Southeast Michigan communities through our partnership with organizations like Oakland Forward.
What’s Next
Right now, we’re working on growing our grassroots fundraising for Voters Action Committee, to help us reach even more voters in our target districts. Soon we’ll also be launching our field operations in these areas, and getting volunteers on doors and talking to voters!
*Please note, I’ll be sending these updates every two weeks from now until October, because our staff is in the field, putting in the work to make this year’s election successful.
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