It’s been four months since since the November 2022 mid-term election and we’re still not tired of saying WE WON EVERYTHING! Our historic wins on Election Night are a result of strategic planning, lots of hard work and most importantly the support of all our generous donors and supporters. Election Night was just the beginning though; now the real work begins. With a democratic trifecta in office for the first time in over 40 years, we have a full slate of priorities that we are working to push over the finish line in the next two years including Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) reform, common sense gun violence prevention policies, repealing Right-to-Work, making sure that the wealthy and corporations pay what they owe in taxes, restoring driver’s licenses for immigrants, and so much more! In short, we have a ton of work to do, and we couldn’t be happier to do it and to have you with us along the way. Onward together!
- Preparing with Partners for Potential Election Crises: Before, during and after Election Day in November 2022, Progress Michigan was in the trenches working directly with partners to push back against any attempt to disenfranchise voters or interfere with election processes. We created voter education resources (and translated them into four languages); shared information about the roles, responsibilities, and limitations of various election workers and election officials; and were one step ahead of election conspiracy theorists and their efforts to sow distrust in our election processes. Months of work paid off as there were very few problems on Election Day. Protecting the right to vote and stopping MAGA Republicans from interfering with our elections remains one of our top priorities.
- Building Up Rural Michigan. Right before the election, Progress Michigan worked with our partners at Center for Change, Northern Michigan Advocacy on their “Anatomy of an Election” voter education roadshow across the Eastern Upper Peninsula and Northern Lower Michigan, and we were excited to get an OpEd published in the Northern Express to give readers a taste of what to expect in their presentation.
- Following the election we published an OpEd with our legislative agenda for rural Michigan. Our agenda highlights opportunities for the state legislature to make meaningful investments in rural communities, including passing a polluter pay law, giving independent small- and medium-sized farmers resources to lead on climate-smart agriculture, support for mental health services, and more. We hope the new trifecta will lead on making sure that rural policy is prioritized and that it’s both equitable and sustainable.
- One Step Closer to Common Sense Gun Violence Prevention Solutions. The new trifecta also provides the first real opportunity to advance policies to prevent gun violence in Michigan like expanding background checks, safe storage, extreme risk protection orders, prohibiting individuals with domestic violence misdemeanors from owning a firearm, and providing adequate funding for community violence intervention programs. We have spent the last two years building a diverse campaign to engage on these issues and ensure that the most effective and equitable policies are passed. At the end of last year, we began setting gears in motion to advance common sense solutions to make our communities safer.
- We’re updating our websites! Our creative team is hard at work so look back in early spring for a fresh new look!
- We won everything! There’s not much more we can add to that 😊
- ProgressiveVotersGuide.com/Michigan —Our Progressive Voter Guide was more successful than ever! In 2022, we tracked hundreds of candidates in races across the state from Congressional and statewide races all the way down to local county commissioner races. Nearly 300,000 Michiganders used our guide—including on Election Day as they were standing in line to vote! This year was also the first year we provided our Progressive Voter Guide in two languages, expanding accessibility for Spanish-speaking Michiganders.
- Progress Michigan Political Action Fund continued to utilize cutting-edge technologies to run a digital program to support progressive candidates up and down the ballot while reaching millions of voters. We never stopped testing and re-evaluating our content, as a result, we were able to develop messages that worked and targeted them to the people who most need to hear them.
- In addition, the Progress Michigan Political Action Fund drafted, designed and mailed a whopping 2,978,497 pieces of mail over six programs.
Paid for with regulated funds by Progress Michigan Political Action Fund, 614 Seymour Ave., Lansing, MI 48933. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.