Promote the Vote 2022 on Monday turned in 669,972 voter signatures to the Michigan Secretary of State to get the important initiative on the Nov. 8 General Election ballot.
Thanks to the help of 27 partner organizations, Promote the Vote 2022 collected 244,913 more signatures than the 425,059 needed to place the proposal before voters in an overwhelming show of collaboration among organizations that support making elections more secure and accessible.
“Today, Promote the Vote 2022 delivered 669,972 petition signatures from Michigan voters who want to make sure their voices are heard and their votes counted in every election,” said Micheal Davis, executive director of Promote the Vote. “The Promote the Vote 2022 campaign is extremely grateful to our team of partner organizations who worked tirelessly to gather signatures from every corner of our state. Michiganders demand and deserve to know they can vote safely, securely and conveniently, and we are already building momentum for the months leading up to the November General Election.”
Promote the Vote 2022 would:
• Allow Michigan voters serving in the military to have their ballot counted if postmarked by Election Day.
• Give voters nine days of early in-person voting.
• Require the state to pay for postage for absentee applications and absentee ballots; provide secure ballot drop boxes and a statewide tracking system for absentee ballots.
“For several months, thousands of Voters Not Politicians volunteers have visited communities across Michigan to let people know how we can make our elections more secure and more convenient for all eligible voters, especially for military families, working parents, older voters, and rural voters,” said Jamie Lyons-Eddy, deputy director of Voters Not Politicians. “The Promote the Vote 2022 ballot proposal will help make sure interference, intimidation and harassment in Michigan elections are a thing of the past. Voting ‘yes’ on Promote the Vote 2022 benefits Michiganders, not politicians.”
“The Michigan State Conference of the NAACP has worked for generations to empower Michiganders and strengthen local communities, especially those who have been marginalized and especially in the area of voting rights,” said Yvonne White, president of the Michigan State Conference of the NAACP. “Every Michigan voter should have confidence that our elections are fair and that politicians don’t put barriers between them and their ballots. Promote the Vote 2022 will significantly reduce intimidation before, during and after voters cast their ballots, and the NAACP looks forward to helping this important proposal win in November.”
“Promote the Vote 2022 is critical to ensuring that all voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and be heard, including those who live and work in rural areas,” said Bob Thompson, president of the Michigan Farmers Union. “Michigan farmers and rural residents can cast their votes conveniently, when they want and how they want, and know that safety and security measures are in place to protect their ballots and the integrity of our elections.”
“Promote the Vote 2022 provides nonpartisan solutions to make sure every eligible voter has the opportunity to exercise their right to vote, and that’s why the League of Women Voters of Michigan and our volunteers worked so diligently to collect signatures,” said Christina Schlitt, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Michigan. “We’re excited to deliver hundreds of thousands of signatures from Michigan voters who want a guarantee that their voices are heard, their votes counted and no one is left behind.”
“No matter what you look like or where you live, every eligible Michigan voter has the right to vote in free, fair elections,” said Kurtis Fernandez, field manager for APIA Vote-Michigan. “Promote the Vote 2022 guarantees voting rights and access to the ballot in Michigan’s Constitution. More than 669,000 Michiganders who signed our petition support these common-sense nonpartisan ideas, and voting ‘yes’ on Promote the Vote 2022 is crucial to the integrity of our elections.”
