Less than one week until Election Day, Michiganders are buzzing about Proposition 3, better known as Promote the Vote. This ballot initiative gives voters the opportunity to decide on expanding the ways in which they may vote in future elections, creating a system that will work for everyone.
Since launching our civic engagement campaign in Michigan, informing voters of just what exactly they will be voting on come November 6 is of the utmost priority. As we aim to re-engage low and moderate propensity African American voters in this year’s elections, Proposition 3, if passed, would supplement our efforts for many more election cycles to come.
The initiative, which has been endorsed by NAACP Michigan, ACLU Michigan, and the league of women voters, considers those who have historically had challenges getting to polling stations. According to Promote the Vote’s website, if passed, it will:
- Protect the right to vote a secret ballot
- Ensure military service members and overseas voters get their ballots in time for their votes to count
- Provide voters with the option to vote straight party
- Automatically register citizens to vote at the Secretary of State’s office unless the citizen declines
- Allow a citizen to register to vote anytime with proof of residency
- Provide all registered voters access to an absentee ballot for any reason
- Ensure the accuracy and integrity of elections by auditing election results.
While Proposition 3 is perhaps the most popular initiative on the ballot, it most certainly isn’t the most controversial. Proposition 1 calls for the legalization of marijuana, while proposition to calls for an end to gerrymandering – a practice which has disenfranchised the Black community for years. In fact, analysts have named Michigan one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. But next Tuesday, all this may change as preliminary data already points to a turning tide across the state:
- Statewide, Democratic voters are returning their ballots 2-points higher than Republicans, though Republicans have returned 38k more ballots (at this point in 2014, the returns were nearly 100k greater).
- Independent and Democratic-leaning women continue to make up a significant portion of absentee voters, representing 35% of returns. Over 58% of total requests are from women voters.
- We continue to see an equal growth in voters across vote history, with voters who have voted in the last 3 of 3 general elections accounting for 76% of ballots.
- In competitive congressional districts, Democratic requests have already neared or outpaced total 2016 requests–Democrats are also returning ballots at a rate 3-points higher than Republicans.
As we knock on doors throughout the state, we know it’s not our place to tell people who to vote for, but we want them to know exactly what they’re voting on, and how it impacts their lives. An election is the ultimate test of a true democracy. Next week, we get to decide who we want to make decisions on our behalf. We can’t take it lightly. Our education, jobs, healthcare, and safety depend on it. By November 6, vote! Our lives depend on it.
Dominik Whitehead
NAACP Civic Engagement, Michigan
