This quarter, the attacks on our voting rights did not let up. Republicans in both the Michigan Senate and House made attempts to move voter suppression bills, and when that didn’t work, Republican special interest groups launched the Secure MI Vote ballot initiative. This initiative aims to take away options for voters on Election Day, make voting absentee more difficult and hamstringing election officials by limiting their ability to raise funds and educate voters. We will continue to work with our partners to fight any attack on our freedom to vote, and you help make that possible through your donations. In fact, we had one of our largest online fundraising days to date in response to these attacks. So, thank you, so very much for supporting our work.

  • Working for fair, nonpartisan maps. For the first time ever, an Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is drawing Michigan’s new legislative district maps. Progress Michigan is working with partners to develop research-based messaging guidance, talking points, videos and graphics to increase awareness about, and engage people in the redistricting process. We also created the MIRedistrictingInfo.org website as a source of information for the ongoing process, and are working to hold the commission accountable in our quest for fair, nonpartisan maps so that we can elect leaders that accurately reflect our diverse communities.

 

  • First Documentary Premiered! In August, the Great Lakes Beacon, Progress Michigan’s source for progressive news and storytelling, released its first documentary – Drawing the Line: Inside the Effort to End Prison Gerrymandering – with rave reviews. The documentary highlights how prison gerrymandering has been used to unfairly shift political power in the state away from urban communities to rural communities and provides solutions through our redistricting process to right these wrongs.
  • NEW Research from Progress Michigan
    • Michigan GOP Uses Non-Political Account to Fund Ballot Initiatives. A new Progress Michigan report shows the Michigan Republican Party has a history of throwing their financial weight around in the ballot initiative process through shady (and possibly illegal) use of their administrative fund. We’ve joined calls for the Michigan Department of State to finalize their ruling that the Michigan GOP cannot use its administrative fund to back their recently announced ballot initiative that will make it harder for Michiganders to vote.
    • James Craig’s Campaign Benefits from Public Resources. After former Detroit Police Chief James Craig announced his publicity stunt masquerading as a law enforcement policy team, we submitted Freedom of Information Act requests to the elected county sheriffs and prosecutors who are publicly participating. What we found raises cause for concern about tax dollars being used to help further Craig’s political career.

 

  • We’re Building Back in Rural Michigan. The 2021 Rural Policy Action Report is now part of our vision for thriving rural communities, and we are working with our rural partners to create content and amplify the report. This quarter we researched and created a series of infographics that we shared through social media, published an opinion piece, and hosted a successful Facebook Live event.

 

  • Advocating for Abortion Rights. Progress Michigan has always been committed to reproductive justice, and we just launched a new campaign – Rethinking Reproductive Rights – an abortion-focused program that prioritizes marginalized communities in the fight for reproductive freedom and abortion access. The campaign launched in September with a website and digital ads. The website is an educational resource designed to give pro-choice Michiganders a basic primer on how the cause of reproductive freedom intersects with issues like racial justice, economic justice, disability rights, and LGBTQ+ equality.

 

 

  • We’re hiring! Over the last eight years, Progress Michigan has experienced significant growth as an organization and we’re proud to see that continue. We’re in the process of hiring three new positions, including a gun violence prevention campaign manager, a new video and graphic designer, and a brand manager. Bringing on extra hands isn’t just great for our organization; it also means extra support and communications expertise for our partners as well.

 

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