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Whitmer vetoes another round of voter suppression bills
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed Friday three more bills from the Republicans’ 39-bill election package that would have imposed stricter ID requirements for voters. Senate Bills 303 and 304, as well as House Bill 5007, would eliminate the state’s current option for voters to submit an affidavit attesting to their identity when attempting to vote without […]
Another slate of ‘voter suppression’ bills make it through Senate
Republicans in the Senate passed a bill Thursday to eliminate the fee to obtain a state ID card, but tie-barred it to another bill that Democrats argue will make it harder for Michiganders to vote. House Bill 5007, introduced by Rep. Ryan Berman (R-Commerce Twp.), would drop the $10 fee for issuing state ID cards, […]
Duggan rips GOP election bills, calls them ‘voter suppression’
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan on Monday blasted a recently introduced set of GOP election reform bills and called them “deeply troubling.” “It needs to get stopped right now,” Duggan said during a news conference where he announced new COVID-19 vaccination sites. “There is no other way to describe it. It’s voter suppression.” Last month, the […]
Right to Work, prevailing wage bills clear final passage in Democratic-led Legislature
Both chambers of the Michigan Legislature advanced more pro-labor legislation on Tuesday, with two bills being ordered for enrollment and two more now heading to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for her expected signature. House Bill 4004 and Senate Bill 34 will repeal the state’s Right to Work laws for both public and private sector employees, respectively. […]
Voter restriction ballot proposal turns in signatures — but may not head to voters
After organizers announced last month they’d gathered enough signatures to put a proposal clamping down on voting on the November ballot, the Secure MI Vote coalition submitted petitions on Friday — well past the deadline. If the Bureau of Elections approves the signatures for the proposal, which is backed by Michigan Republicans, it will go […]
David Hecker: Corporations should stop funding politicians who back voter suppression
Sometimes it is hard to live our values. We try hard to do so, and I for one, know that at times I falter. But while slipping at times is understandable, there are lines we must strive never to cross. Voting rights is not a complicated issue. It’s a question of fundamental values — justice, […]
Advocates encourage voting accessibility and engagement with young voters
Activists, educators and nonprofit organizers on Wednesday discussed efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 elections, restrictions on voting rights and methods for promoting civic engagement. The panel was held as part of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights’ 2022 Civil Rights Summit at the Lansing Center. The discussion opened with Democratic Secretary of […]
Black voters coalition calls out GM, Blue Cross Blue Shield for supporting ‘voter suppression’
About three dozen activists from the Defend Black Voters Coalition rallied on Detroit’s riverfront on Monday to criticize what they described as voter suppression efforts backed by corporate entities, while General Motors’ Board of Directors met in the nearby Renaissance Center. It was the second public demonstration in the last two weeks for a coalition […]
Defend Black Voters Coalition to utilities: Offer ‘accountability for outages’
The Defend Black Voters Coalition on Tuesday launched an effort against the “abuse of our democracy” by utilities DTE and Consumers Energy. The group — which includes social action nonprofits Detroit Action, MOSES Action, Michigan People’s Campaign, Mothering Justice Action Fund, Emergent Justice, Color of Change and Community Change Action — announced its “Taking Back […]
U.S. Senate blocks change in the filibuster for voting rights bills
WASHINGTON — Every Republican in the U.S. Senate and two Democrats on Wednesday night rejected a proposed change in the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation, dealing a major blow to attempts in Congress to counter restrictive voting laws passed in the states. In a 48-52 vote, two Democrats — Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona […]