VAAC joined partners from across Michigan in Lansing for Capitol Day, a statewide day of advocacy focused on voting rights, representation, and accountability.

Throughout the day, VAAC met with legislators to provide education on key policies impacting access to voting and fair representation, including:

• SB 603 / HB 4812 – Voting Access for Returning Citizens
• SB 537 – Ending Prison Gerrymandering
• The Hands Off MI Vote Pledge – Opposing Documentary Proof of Citizenship requirements that create barriers for eligible voters

These conversations focused on ensuring that people impacted by incarceration, poverty, housing instability, and systemic exclusion have access to accurate information, fair representation, and the ability to participate in civic life.

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Youth Leadership in Action

VAAC’s high school intern participated in Capitol Day and engaged directly with lawmakers and staff.

She met with the office of State Senator Darrin Camilleri, one of the sponsors of SB 757, a bill highlighted in the VAAC youth intern one-pager. During that meeting, she asked questions about the legislative process, career pathways, and what it is like to work in Lansing. She also exchanged contact information with a staff member to continue the conversation and learn more.

That same day, she witnessed the Michigan Senate vote on SB 757 – SB 760, known as the “Kids Over Clicks” bills. The bills passed while she was at the Capitol, providing a real-time look at how legislation moves and how decisions are made.

The youth one-pager she shared with legislators focused on issues that directly impact young people, including:

• SB 757 – SB 760 – Kids Over Clicks
• HB 4020 – Black History in Classrooms
• HB 5364 – Education Control Bill
• The SAVE Act

The one-pager highlighted how these policies affect access to information, education, safety, and voting, and centered youth perspectives on what these decisions mean for their future.

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Coalition Advocacy Across Issues

Capitol Day brought together organizations and advocates working across voting rights, reproductive freedom, healthcare access, and economic justice.

On the Capitol steps, leaders and organizers spoke about the role of corporate influence in shaping policy and the need for accountability.

Advocates called for action to move the Michiganders for Money Out of Politics (MMOP) initiative forward, emphasizing the urgency of reducing corporate influence and ensuring that communities, not money, shape decision-making.

Speakers also addressed the connection between representation and power, including the impact of recent court decisions on Black and Brown communities and the ongoing need to organize in response.

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A Broader Pattern

The conversations throughout Capitol Day reflected a shared understanding: these issues are connected.

Efforts to expand voting access for returning citizens, end prison gerrymandering, oppose documentary proof of citizenship requirements, and address representation all point to the same question — who has access to participate and who has the power to shape decisions.

This work is about ensuring that communities are not excluded from the process.

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What This Means Moving Forward

Capitol Day is one step in ongoing work.

VAAC will continue to:

• Provide education on policies that impact access to voting
• Organize across communities, including jails and other spaces where access is limited
• Support community members in engaging directly with decision-makers

This work continues beyond a single day. This is how we build civic power.

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