Gathering petition signatures is an act as old as democracy itself. It is direct and easy to understand: Sign the petition to show your support. Sign the petition and the person or issue will be placed on the ballot for everyone to decide on. Many of us have signed or circulated petitions for issues or candidates that we believe in.  […]

Better roads. Cleaner water. Real Democracy. This post is part of a new project at Eclectablog called “A Fresh Michigan”. Our goal is to help people understand the astonishing impact they can have on the future of our state by supporting the three statewide ballot proposals along with Sam Bagenstos and Megan Kathleen Cavanagh for the State Supreme Court. You […]

Better roads. Cleaner water. Real Democracy. This post is part of a new project at Eclectablog called “A Fresh Michigan”. Our goal is to help people understand the astonishing impact they can have on the future of our state by supporting the three statewide ballot proposals along with Sam Bagenstos and Megan Kathleen Cavanagh for the State Supreme Court. You […]

Better roads. Cleaner water. Real Democracy. This post is part of a new project at Eclectablog called “A Fresh Michigan”. Our goal is to help people understand the astonishing impact they can have on the future of our state by supporting the three statewide ballot proposals along with Sam Bagenstos and Megan Kathleen Cavanagh for the State Supreme Court. You […]

This past week I wrote about a package of voter suppression bills currently being blasted through the state legislature (HERE and HERE.) They are House Bills 6066, 6067, and 6068. Here’s a piece of what I wrote on Friday: First, we have the voter suppression effort that I wrote about on Wednesday. This legislation does away with the option to […]

I recently wrote about Michigan Republicans’ ulterior motive when they eliminated the ability to vote a straight ticket ballot with one mark. Although they laughably claim it is intended to force Michigan voters to do more research, the actual reason is very politically-motivated: People like me frequently say that “Republicans control every aspect of government in Michigan”. However, that’s not […]

“Constitutional conservatives”, yes, even at the state level, believe that their main, driving purpose is to protect the constitution, both at the federal level and the state level. Agree or disagree, it is what they claim to want, fight for, and live for. That is, except when they disagree with said constitutions. Case in point on the state level is […]

Citing a lack of adequate funding, Fair Michigan, a coalition of groups and individuals headed up by civil rights attorney Dana Nessel and that included noted Republicans like Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, Gov. Snyder’s former press secretary Sara Wurfel, and Lansing attorney and political mover-and-shaker Richard McClellan, has ended its attempt to put the civil rights of LGBTQ […]

This week the Republicans in the Michigan House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 13, a bill that would eliminate the option of straight-ticket voting on Michigan ballots. While they claim it’s to make us all “more responsible” voters, the obvious intent is to make it just that more difficult to vote in Michigan. In fact, Progress Michigan recently showed how […]

[NOTE: This piece has been edited to correct a claim that Wayne State University Law School Dean Jocelyn Benson had helped draft the ballot language. This statement, based on civil rights attorney Dana Nessel’s opening remarks, was, apparently, inaccurate. I have corrected this post and issued a correction with audio HERE.] Last night, the Jim Toy LGBTQ Community Center sponsored […]

As I reported earlier this week, a group headed up by civil rights attorney Dana Nessel has formed to put civil rights for the LGBT community on the ballot in 2016. Nessel’s group, Fair Michigan, will submit petition language and then collect signatures for a ballot proposal that will enshrine civil rights like employment and housing equality in the state […]