News

  • Documentary Screening and Discussion at Wayne State University, “Silenced”

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    “Silenced: An Unlock Civics Documentary” will be shown followed by a panel discussion at Wayne State University, September 19, 2021.

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  • Help Others Register to Vote

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    Update: Thanks to LWV of Washtenaw for inviting VAAC to attend this training. For further info on LWV training you can go to this link. On September 21. 2021 at 7 pm, the League of Women Voters of Washtenaw is offering an on-line training session on how to run a registration tabling event and help…

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  • Incarcerated individual voting in prison

    Challenging Felony Disenfranchisement to Fight Voter Suppression

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    On September 15th at 2pm ET, tune in and join this important discussion to mark National Voting Rights Month by discussing advancements in universal suffrage that challenge felony disenfranchisement. Presenters Include: Ivelisse Gilestra, New York Campaign for Full Restoration of Voting RightsRahim Buford, Tennessee’s Unheard Voices OutreachAvalon Betts-Gaston, Illinois Alliance for Reentry & JusticeReginald Thedford, Stand…

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  • artwork by Martin Vargas titled Painting His Way Home, an abstract image of a green plumpy person in a prison cell painting an expansive airy landscape.

    View Art Exhibitions About Mass Incarceration at Michigan State University

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    Culminating Sept. 9th, The MSU Broad Art Museum will have opened six exhibitions dedicated to mass incarceration in the U.S.

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  • Act now to end Prison Gerrymandering in Michigan legislative redistricting.

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    We MUST end prison gerrymandering in legislative redistricting in Michigan. The MICRC (Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission) is completing their redistricting plans which will be in effect for the next 10 years. VAAC is asking everyone to take two specific actions in support of ending this unfair practice. Post a short note of support for…

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  • teaser of Detroit News article with quotation and portrait of Danny Jones

    VAAC’s Danny Jones Published in Detroit News on Prison Gerrymandering

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    Danny Jones, chairperson of the Voting Access for All Coalition, speaks from personal experience in a recent opinion article in the Detroit News, describing the harmful practice of prison gerrymandering: counting prisoners as residents of districts where they are imprisoned, even though they have no ties to that community, likely call a different district home,…

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  • A group photo from Michigan Liberation, with their logo in the corner of the image.

    Michigan Liberation Monthly Assembly, September 3, on Ending Cash Bail

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    This Friday, September 3rd, from 6 to 8pm Michigan Liberation will be holding our Monthly Assembly.  The focus this month is on Ending Cash Bail. We’ll also be hearing from other organizers and organizations about some of their ongoing campaigns, including Clean Slate, End Truth and Sentencing  /  Restore Good Time, and Voting in Jail. …

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  • VAAC Goal for National Voter Registration Month this September

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    At this week’s Tuesday morning Voting Ed and Outreach meeting, we set a goal for September (National Voter Registration month): to distribute flyers and posters to all the settings we have listed on our Community outreach spreadsheet during the first two weeks of September; to make contact with all 83 county jails about in-person outreach plans and/or…

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  • Voting in Prison and Then Becoming an Elected Official

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    This is a great article about the power of voting.  We have a committee on Voting for those who are incarcerated in Michigan.  When incarcerated citizens vote it really makes a difference! https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/07/25/joel-caston-dc-incarcerated-commissioner/

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  • Prison Gerrymandering Addressed at MICRC Public Meeting

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    Several people, including volunteers from VAAC, gave testimony at the recent Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) meetings, on the topic of Prison Gerrymandering. Additionally, VAAC posted a statement and related materials on the MICRC website. Please check it out here and add your comments in support of ending prison gerrymandering. Check out the wonderfully…

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  • Protesters marching in a street, one holding a sign saying Voting Rights Are Human Rights.

    End Prison Gerrymandering

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    The Voting Access for All Coalition (VAAC) urges you to support House Bill 4276 and Senate Bill 151, which seek to end prison gerrymandering in the state of Michigan. “Prison Gerrymandering” manipulates and distorts the voting process by counting people that are incarcerated as residents of the district in which they are imprisoned, rather than…

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  • Poster for 2021 Michigan Liberation Day 3 Juneteenth Liberation Week of Action Panel Discussion on the impact of cach bail and pretrial services, including dates, a hashtag, and a URL.

    Michigan Liberation Juneteenth Liberation Week of Action Starts Today

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    Join us TODAY at 7PM EST as we kick off the week with a panel discussion about the system of cash bail. The cash bail system criminalizes poverty. Cash bail and pretrial detention destabilizes our families and creates long-lasting ripple effects. Ending cash bail means eliminating the structures that keep loved ones caged. Join us…

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