Thank you partners, voters, and election workers.
This year has been a lot. It has tested our communities in ways we haven’t seen in a long time, and yet we persevered. As we reflect on Election Day, and all of the work that went into making sure voters could cast their ballots, I couldn’t be more proud of all that our team and partners have done.
We, alongside our partners, have been building Michigan’s Election Protection Program since 2020. Our partners span the state and work on a variety of different issues: reproductive freedom, environmental protection, workers rights, and education (just to name a few). All of these partners come together to collaborate on election protection because they understand that the right to vote makes every other right possible and having a say in who represents their communities impacts all of the other work they do every day.
Each cycle our program grows and becomes more strategic. But let’s be clear, this work does not exist in the confines of an election cycle. We do election protection work year-round.
Together, we plan for every conceivable scenario. This year we trained 920 poll challengers to observe the voting process at 85 early voting sites and 589 Election Day polling locations across the state to ensure that voters can cast their ballots free of intimidation. We develop and share voter education content that’s simple and accurate and can be shared by dozens of our partners on the ground.
Partners made more than 6.5 million attempts to contact voters between doors, phones, and texts. Together we registered almost 60,000 voters, met people where they were at, and had meaningful conversations about what it means to vote, why people should vote, and what people’s options for voting are. Because of the time and energy our partners put in, voters turned out in record numbers this election, with 4.7 million Michigan voters casting their ballots to make their voices heard. We did this together for the people we love, for our communities, our state, and our country — because we know a better future is possible.
I want to thank all of our local election workers. They are our neighbors and fellow community members. They helped ensure that every eligible voter who wanted to could cast a ballot, and that our elections are secure and accurate. I also want to thank every voter and election protection volunteer who showed up to do their part in the electoral process. Our democracy works best when everyone can participate. And of course, I want to thank our incredible partners. None of this is possible without your continued collaboration and commitment to building a better future for all of us.
Our work is not done, we will continue until this election is certified, and our new elected leaders are sworn in. We are currently working with the League of Women Voters, ACLU Fund of MI, and others to ensure that we have volunteer canvass observers monitoring the canvass and certification process in all 83 counties so that we can certify this election and move forward. After that, we will work with partners to enact the policies that will help better our communities.
The work is never done, but progress deserves to be celebrated.
Onward,
Sommer Foster
Executive Director, Michigan Voices
