How We Achieved Michigan Proposition 2 Victory — a Groundbreaking Voting Rights Proposal
By Oliver Hicklin-Coorey, organizer with the Democracy is for People Campaign
US democracy stood firm during the midterm elections. Several high-profile candidates who questioned the 2020 election results based on false allegations lost their races, but some of the biggest victories came in the form of ballot initiatives. In Michigan, Public Citizen with coalition partners, such as Promote the Vote, Voters Not Politicians (VNP), and the League of Women Voters, worked on the ground for months to get the pro-democracy initiative Proposition 2, or Prop 2, on the ballot statewide as well as to get it passed on Election Day. The result was an emphatic victory, with Prop 2 passing with 60 percent of the vote! The vote in favor crossed party lines, as no Democrat running statewide had such a large share of the vote, demonstrating the importance of our non-partisan work and the crucial role ballot initiatives have to play in passing good policy. With Prop 2’s passage, Michigan will benefit through a stronger democracy.
Prop 2 is a groundbreaking proposal that will make voting a fundamental right in Michigan’s Constitution. It will allow overseas and military ballots postmarked by election day to be counted if received within 6 days after election day as well as provide funding for postage on absentee applications and ballots, secure drop boxes, and electronic tracking to alert voters of any issues with their ballot and how to fix it. It will also provide nine days of in-person early voting and allow in-person voters to prove their identity by showing a photo ID or signing a legally binding affidavit. Crucially, Prop 2 will ensure election results in Michigan are determined solely through the votes cast by requiring canvassing boards to only certify results based on the official vote count, preventing a potential election-denying legislature from going against the will of the people. “The passage of Prop 2 was a huge win for democracy and the freedom to vote in Michigan,” said Ilana Beller, Field Manager for Public Citizen’s Democracy Campaign and leader of Public Citizen’s work in Michigan. “The fact that a state that tried to send a slate of fake electors in 2020 passed this legislation, which enshrines in the state constitution a clear procedure for the certification of their election results and unequivocally states that the results should be determined only by the votes of the Michigan people, is a big deal and can serve as an important model.”
Passing Prop 2 would not have been possible without months of organizing and activism on the ground. Public Citizen contributed to this work by tapping into the often overlooked population of students on college campuses across the state and by creating and leading the internship program that enabled eighteen students from the University of Michigan, Northern Michigan University, Central Michigan University, Saginaw Valley State University, and Eastern Michigan University to educate thousands of fellow students in Michigan about Prop 2 and ensure they were prepared to vote. This work included presentations to classes and student organizations, phone banking to thousands of potential voters with VNP and the NAACP, canvassing in student dormitories and off-campus neighborhoods as well as tabling in areas with foot traffic and crowd canvassing. Interns also helped folks to register to vote and informed those who needed help in the voting process. As a result of these efforts, educating thousands of students about Prop 2’s importance and ensuring they got out to vote, our interns gathered over a thousand petition signatures in support of Prop 2, and registered hundreds of people to vote.
Running up to election day, Public Citizen organized a phone bank for activists across the country to call Michigan voters about Prop 2, and we were able to call over 20,000 people across Michigan! Not only was the phonebanking campaign an efficient means of reaching so many people, but it was an intentional effort to call folks in the state who would not otherwise be reached. Many of the individuals we called had either never heard of the Prop 2 initiative or had not voted before. After informing these folks about Prop 2, we managed to convince many to support the initiative and vote in favor of it.
Despite this hard-earned victory in Michigan, our work is not over. Although the midterms were promising, it remains the case that a majority of election deniers still won their races and some efforts to defend democracy, such as the work of the January 6th Committee, will almost certainly end under the new House leadership. There is more to be done and we are proud to be working every day with people like you to strengthen and defend our democracy.
