Election 2022
Michigan has made big strides on voting rights. Here’s what to expect next.
This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces. To learn more, visit usdemocracyday.org Michigan has made strong progress in protecting voters’ rights and access to the ballot box in recent years, […]
Lawsuit arguing racial gerrymandering in Michigan’s legislative districts to go to trial
A case brought by 20 metro Detroit voters raising concerns about Michigan’s new voting districts lowering Black voter percentages in Detroit-area districts will go to trial, a three judge panel in a Michigan federal court determined this week. At the end of 2021, the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) approved the new voting districts […]
Whitmer to call for passage of the ‘Reproductive Health Act’ in Wednesday speech
After Michigan voters resoundingly passed Proposition 3 in the November 2022 election, enshrining the right to abortion and other reproductive health care in the state constitution, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is slated on Wednesday to champion soon-to-be-introduced legislation that would repeal laws restricting Michiganders’ access to abortion. A longtime advocate of abortion rights whose reelection in […]
Susan J. Demas: Why pundits still can’t admit they were wrong about abortion
For as long as I’ve been paying attention to politics — I’ll date myself and admit that began in the ‘80s — the conventional wisdom was that Roe v. Wade wasn’t going anywhere, so reproductive rights didn’t rate as a top-tier election issue. America was hopelessly divided 50-50 on the issue, we were told ad […]
Hamtramck mayor describes group that flew LGBTQ+ Pride flag as a ‘militia’
Updated, 9:01 a.m. 7/15/23 with comments from AG Nessel The day after a vote by the Hamtramck City Council to remove two officials who flew a Pride flag on city property, the city’s mayor alleged that Attorney General Dana Nessel was part of an intimidation campaign by the LGBTQ+ community. On Tuesday, the City Council […]
Michigan lawmakers pass ‘historic’ voting rights legislation: Here’s what it would do
After 60% of state voters in November approved a constitutional amendment making sweeping changes to Michigan elections, lawmakers this week passed legislation to enact those reforms and included $46 million in their Fiscal Year 2024 budget to implement the amendment known as Proposal 2. “This is a huge change,” state Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing), […]
Trump returns to Michigan, rallies GOP faithful in railing against electric vehicles
Back in Michigan Sunday for the first time since announcing in November he would seek a White House run again in 2024, former President Donald Trump railed against electric vehicles, saying they would “decimate” the automotive industry. Speaking at the Oakland County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day dinner inside Novi’s Suburban Collection Showplace, Trump quickly […]
‘A beacon of hope’: One year after Dobbs, advocates say Michigan leads on abortion rights
Hours after the right-wing U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the country’s nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion on June 24, 2022, a heavy-hearted state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) was talking to a group of organizers. “Even though we knew it was coming, it was just devastating,” McMorrow said. “I think […]
Nessel brings charges in 2022 signature fraud scandal, says investigation continues
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced felony charges against three campaign circulators Thursday morning in connection with a scandal that upended the 2022 gubernatorial race, leaving five Republican candidates off the August primary ballot. Shawn Wilmoth, Jamie Wilmoth-Goodin, and Willie Reed are accused of conducting a criminal enterprise to defraud eight political campaigns, including five […]
Michigan voter reforms have made it a model for strengthening democracy, report says
A report released Thursday by the left-leaning Center for American Progress (CAP) highlights Michigan’s election and voting reforms that, in turn, have resulted in increased public trust in government. “While some states have struggled to implement meaningful reforms—and many have moved in the wrong direction by restricting access to the ballot box — Michigan has […]
Sen. Moss introduces bills allowing clerks to fully process absentee ballots before Election Day
Michigan clerks may soon be able to process and count absentee ballots before Election Day should lawmakers pass newly introduced bills that sponsor state Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) said aim to deter the kind of election disinformation that exploded across Michigan in the wake of the 2020 election. “One of the biggest challenges for election […]
Whitmer signs into law ban on discrimination against employees getting an abortion
Employers in Michigan will now be barred from discriminating against their employees for getting an abortion, under legislation signed into law this week by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The legislation, Senate Bill 147, brings the state’s civil rights laws up to code with Proposal 3 of 2022, the constitutional amendment securing the right to an abortion […]