Organizers turned in the petitions during the Board of State Canvassers meeting in Lansing on Wednesday, May 27.

The campaign, spearheaded by Voters Not Politicians and coalition partners across Michigan, spent the past several months organizing petition drives, volunteer canvassing efforts, and public outreach events statewide. Voting Access For All Coalition (VAAC) participated in the signature collection effort through petition circulation, community outreach, and public education connected to the campaign.

According to reporting from Michigan Advance, the proposed initiative would ban campaign spending by regulated utilities and certain state contractors.

Michigan law requires at least 446,198 valid signatures for a statewide ballot initiative to move forward.

Over the course of the campaign, volunteers and organizers gathered signatures at neighborhood events, festivals, public meetings, community centers, and other public spaces throughout Michigan. Throughout the spring, MMOP organizers also held “MOP Up Michigan” events and volunteer canvasses leading up to the petition submission deadline.

If enough signatures are validated, the proposal could advance to the Michigan Legislature. Lawmakers would then have the option to adopt the proposal directly or allow it to move forward to the statewide ballot.

Watch the livestream of the signature submission here.

The post MMOP Campaign Turns In More Than 562,000 Signatures for Michigan Ballot Proposal appeared first on Voting Access For All.

Voting Access for All Coalition (VAAC), in partnership with Indivisible Metro Detroit, are hosting additional community pop-ups where participants can create personal art pieces connected to their experiences, perspectives, and reflections on voting and civic life on May 28th.

Through writing, drawing, collage, and mixed media, participants are contributing 5×7 pieces that will become part of a larger public installation centered on voting rights, access, and community voice.

The project creates space for people to reflect on questions including:

• What does voting mean to me?
• What barriers do communities face when trying to vote?
• What does it look like to protect access to voting?

The installation is rooted in the understanding that not every experience connected to voting, exclusion, or civic participation can be fully explained through policy discussions alone. Art creates another way for people to express frustration, hope, memory, resistance, and lived experience.

No art experience is needed. Participants can create independently or alongside others.

The work is being developed in collaboration with Detroit artist, writer, and storyteller Yusef Qualls-El, whose work explores incarceration, race, identity, dignity, and the silencing of marginalized voices. His leadership helps ground this project in lived experience, creative expression, and community storytelling.

Join us at the next pop-up:

Thursday, May 28 | 5:00 to 7:30 PM
Jim’s Corner
22757 Woodward Ave Ste 100, Ferndale

VAAC and community partners are also planning additional art pop-ups as part of the Good Trouble Lives On Weekend of Action taking place July 17–19, 2026.

The national weekend of action honors the legacy of Congressman John Lewis through grassroots organizing, voting rights advocacy, and nonviolent action focused on protecting democracy and civil rights.

Additional event details, locations, and times will be announced soon.

Community members are invited to stop by, create, reflect, and contribute to the growing installation.

The post Voting Rights Art Pop-Ups Continue In Ferndale appeared first on Voting Access For All.

This year’s theme is “Building Bridges to a Safer Michigan: Advancing Justice, Supporting Families, and Strengthening Communities.”

For 15 years, CPR’s Legislative Education Day has brought families, advocates, community members, and policymakers together to address issues in Michigan’s justice system.

The 2026 event will focus on rehabilitation, accountability, family connection, reentry, and policies that affect incarcerated people and their loved ones.

Topics will include oversight, visitation, access to programming, financial burdens within the prison system, and conditions affecting incarcerated people, families, and the communities people return home to.

The event will feature Priscilla Bordayo, Survivor, National Advocate, and Transformational Speaker with Crime Survivors Speak, as a special guest.

Cassie Larrieux of Safe & Just Michigan will also speak about the report “Debtors in Prison” and the impact of financial burdens within the prison system.

CPR will also have its model solitary cell experience available to help attendees better understand the realities of isolation.

Families are encouraged to schedule meetings with their legislators on the day of the event. If you are not able to schedule a meeting, you can still visit legislative offices with materials provided at the event and follow up afterward.

Event Information

Tuesday, June 16, 2026
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Capitol Lawn
100 N. Capitol Ave.
Lansing, MI 48933

The event is free to attend, but registration is required.

Register Here

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/cprs-legislative-education-day–2026

Questions can be directed to vkeywalker@micpr.org or saraf@micpr.org.

The post CPR’s 15th Annual Legislative Education Day Comes to Lansing on June 16 appeared first on Voting Access For All.

In Michigan, many people in jail are legally eligible to vote, but access often depends on systems that are inconsistent, difficult to navigate, or unavailable altogether. This workgroup brings together organizations, advocates, and community members working to improve coordination, strengthen county-level relationships, and address barriers that prevent eligible voters from participating.

As conversations around voting rights and democratic participation continue nationwide, this work remains urgent.

The workgroup is focused on building the tools, communication systems, and statewide coordination needed to ensure eligible voters in jail are not left behind during upcoming elections.

As we move closer to the midterm elections, this work includes:

• Building county-level relationships  

• Improving communication and tracking systems  

• Strengthening statewide coordination  

• Supporting consistent access to mail-in voting and election information in jails  

VAAC recently adjusted the workgroup meeting schedule to better align with other statewide election access efforts and strengthen collaboration across organizations working on voting rights and election administration.

Upcoming Jail Voting Workgroup meetings:

May 21  

June 11 and June 25  

July 9 and July 23  

No matter where people are located, there are ways to support this work. VAAC provides guidance, tools, coordination, and support for those interested in helping expand voting access in jails across Michigan.

People can also support this work financially. Donations help fund jail voting postcards, flyers, transportation to jails, and other essential resources needed to expand voting access across Michigan counties.

Donate: vaac.me/give

This effort will continue through the November election cycle and beyond.

The post Next Statewide Jail Voting Workgroup on Thursday, May 21 appeared first on Voting Access For All.

Detroit Warrant Clinic | May 16

VAAC is co-hosting Our Own Wall Street’s Detroit Warrant Clinic on May 16, 2026 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.

This clinic is for individuals with arrest warrants from the City of Detroit connected to traffic tickets or misdemeanors. Community members will be able to receive assistance in a supportive environment.

Butzel Family Recreation Center
7737 Kercheval St., Detroit, MI

NO FEAR OF ARREST.

For more information:
info@ourownwallstreet.org

A Brighter Way’s 4th Annual Community BBQ | May 15

VAAC will also be attending A Brighter Way’s 4th Annual Community BBQ on May 15 from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Riverside Park in Ypsilanti.

The event brings community members together for food, connection, and support.

Riverside Park
2 E Cross St, Ypsilanti, MI 48198

Those interested in volunteering can contact:
supports@abrighterway.org

Please include:
• Phone number
• Time available
• Any accommodations needed

The post Community Events In Detroit and Ypsilanti This Week appeared first on Voting Access For All.

The proposal would:
• Ban regulated utilities from making political contributions
• Ban corporations with large state or local government contracts from contributing to political campaigns
• Close loopholes that allow undisclosed political spending (“dark money”)

As the campaign approaches its filing deadline, organizers say there are still completed petition sheets circulating across Michigan that need to be returned immediately.

According to the coalition, petitions are still sitting in homes, cars, bags, and community spaces across the state. These are signatures that have already been collected and now need to make it back to campaign organizers before the May 20 deadline.

In response, the campaign is launching a large-scale call and text effort to help track down and return every outstanding petition sheet.

Organizers are encouraging supporters to:

• Return completed petition sheets as soon as possible
• Contact people who may still be holding petitions
• Help collect remaining signatures before the deadline
• Continue spreading information about the campaign in their communities

The campaign says every returned sheet could help determine whether the proposal qualifies for the ballot.

The initiative is part of broader statewide conversations about political influence, accountability, and corporate money in elections.

Get Involved

Learn more or volunteer:

MMOP Volunteer Information

Find a place to sign:

MMOP Signing Locations

The post MMOP Campaign Launches Final Push to Collect Outstanding Petition Signatures appeared first on Voting Access For All.

Black Mama’s Bail Out began in 2017 as a national effort to bail out Black mamas and caregivers from jails and migrant detention centers before Mother’s Day. The campaign uses the term “Mama” broadly to include Black women, femmes, gender-nonconforming people, and non-binary people who parent, care for, and hold their families and communities together. 

The campaign responds to the ways incarceration harms Black mothers and caregivers, including family separation, financial strain, trauma, and the risk of losing custody or parental rights while jailed before trial. National Bail Out also emphasizes that many women in local jails have not been convicted and are awaiting trial. 

Black Mama’s Bail Out is not only about release from jail. National Bail Out supports Black mamas and caregivers with short- and long-term needs such as court reminders, childcare, groceries, transportation, housing assistance, employment support, mental health support, and legal counsel.

In 2025, National Bail Out and partner organizations granted more than $1 million in bail, provided $195,000 in supportive services, and bailed out 104 Black mamas and caregivers across the country. In 2024, partners bailed out 151 Black mamas and caregivers, including through work in Detroit. 

Our partners at the American Friends Service Committee Michigan Criminal Justice Program are also sharing resources through the Michigan Survivors Justice Initiative to lift up incarcerated mothers and support long-term change.

Their Mother’s Day toolkit includes information about women incarcerated in Michigan, ways to support incarcerated mothers, and resources connected to the effort to advance a Survivors Justice Act in Michigan.

As part of this effort, AFSC Michigan shared prayers honoring incarcerated mothers and the families impacted by separation:

“We pray for the strengthening of the bonds between mothers behind bars and the children and loved ones who miss them.”

“We pray for the internal journey of every incarcerated mother. Grant them the resolve to heal from past traumas, the wisdom to grow through their circumstances, and the hope of a future defined not by their mistakes, but by a redeeming grace and the possibility of a restoration that begins in the heart and in community.”

“We pray for incarcerated mothers whose paths into the system were paved with surviving their abuse.”

“We pray for the power of liberation to grace mothers who have been separated from their children and communities for decades.”

This Mother’s Day, we encourage our community to reflect on the impact incarceration has on mothers, caregivers, children, and families, and to support efforts focused on healing, release, restoration, and keeping families connected.

Learn more:
Black Mama’s Bail Out: https://www.nationalbailout.org
AFSC Michigan Criminal Justice Program: https://afsc.org

The post Mother’s Day, Black Mama’s Bail Out, Support for Incarcerated Mothers appeared first on Voting Access For All.

The policy is designed to separate parts of election administration connected to the governor’s race from the Secretary of State’s direct oversight during the election cycle.

Under the plan, certain responsibilities related to the gubernatorial election, including petition reviews, recounts, post-election audits, campaign finance complaints, and supervision connected to that race, would be delegated to Michigan’s director of elections.

The policy is intended to address potential conflicts of interest and maintain public confidence in election administration. These kinds of separation procedures are sometimes referred to as a “firewall” because they are intended to create distance between election administration and a candidate’s campaign.

Why This Is Important

Election administration depends on transparency, clear procedures, and public trust.

Michigan’s election system is administered locally through county, city, and township clerks, with oversight responsibilities shared across multiple offices and bipartisan boards.

At a time when voting access, mail-in voting, voter data, and election workers are increasingly under political pressure, public clarity around how elections are administered matters.

What VAAC Wants Our Community to Know

This policy does not change voter eligibility or how eligible Michigan voters cast their ballots.

It does outline how certain election administration responsibilities connected to the gubernatorial race would be handled during the 2026 election cycle.

VAAC will continue sharing accurate information about voting access, election administration, and policies that affect public participation in elections.

The post Michigan Secretary of State Announces Election Oversight Safeguards for 2026 Governor’s Race appeared first on Voting Access For All.

MMOP is a grassroots effort focused on reducing the influence of corporate money in Michigan elections and addressing pay-to-play politics, where financial contributions can shape political decisions.

The proposal would:

• Ban regulated utilities from making political contributions
• Ban corporations with large state or local government contracts from contributing to political campaigns
• Close loopholes that allow undisclosed political spending (“dark money”)

This campaign is working to place the proposal on the November 2026 ballot so voters can decide directly.

Right now, the focus is on collecting the signatures required to get there. The campaign needs to gather hundreds of thousands of valid signatures from voters across Michigan.

Why this matters

When large corporations and major contractors can financially influence elections, it impacts whose voices are heard and whose priorities move forward.

This campaign is one way people can take action to shift that, by putting the question directly in front of voters.

What you can do

There are several ways to get involved:

• Sign the petition
  Request a petition or find a location near you to add your name
• Circulate the petition
  Volunteer to collect signatures in your community
• Join a local effort
  Connect with others already organizing and collecting signatures

This is happening statewide, and participation at this stage is what determines whether this issue reaches the ballot.

Getting involved in efforts like this is one way to take part in shaping what appears on the ballot and how decisions are made in Michigan. This is exactly what we mean when we talk about building civic power.

If you want to sign, help circulate, or get connected, reach out to VAAC at contact@votingaccessforall.org and put <MMOP> in the subject line to get started.

The post Sign or Circulate the MMOP (Michiganders for Money Out of Politics) Petition appeared first on Voting Access For All.

This free, in-person workshop will bring together community members from across Metro Detroit to build skills, share knowledge, and connect with others working to influence public policy.

Participants will have the opportunity to learn practical advocacy strategies, strengthen their understanding of how to engage with decision-makers, and build relationships with others organizing for change.

MLPP is offering this training at no cost, with space limited to 50 participants.

If you are interested in attending, you are encouraged to REGISTER in advance to reserve your spot → https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeDW3-Bnx4Vabk6RD-QaOYdtUHRI2iHyfoy9F6WpzKbWTQvSw/viewform

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