It’s a lot to take in, but it helps to remember that there are dedicated democracy advocates across the country winning battles big and small to ensure a more representative, responsive and accountable government.
In this holiday season, I want to highlight a story that all democracy supporters can cheer. It centers around the state of Michigan, where advocates, voters and elected officials are leading by example in their strong embrace of the pro-democracy agenda.
The list of improvements to the state’s electoral process and voting laws over the last several years is long, but it’s fair to say that none of it would have been possible without two crucial elements: citizen-led ballot initiatives and fair voting maps.
Michigan voters can amend the state constitution through ballot initiatives. After gathering enough citizen signatures in support of an initiative, proposed changes to the state constitution are placed on the ballot for a vote. Democracy advocates engaged in a successful campaign to pass a slew of reforms through ballot initiatives in 2018 that expanded the freedom to vote. CLC and our partners in the state concentrated our efforts on an initiative that would remove partisan politicians from the redistricting process.
The effort to advance these ballot initiatives was driven by the legislature’s failure to act on broadly popular policies — a deliberate choice by lawmakers favoring power over principle. Repairing Michigan’s redistricting process was a particularly urgent priority, as the state was notorious at the time for having some of the most badly gerrymandered districts in the country.
The initiative creating the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) passed with 61% of the vote. CLC invested significant time and effort supporting local advocates whose efforts were crucial to getting this initiative onto the ballot in the first place. We also represented supporters of Michigan’s independent redistricting process in court, successfully defending the law against a number of separate legal challenges.
Independent redistricting in Michigan has grown in popularity, with a 2022 survey commissioned by MIRC finding 66% support. This is welcome news in a state where the last vote for president was nearly evenly divided. On this issue, we usually see bipartisan support for a process that produces fair maps that accurately reflect the sentiments of the people rather than the partisan ends of the party in power.
Following the 2022 election, the first to occur in Michigan with the fair maps drawn by the Commission in place, it has become clear that there is now majority support in the state legislature for progress on the pro-democracy agenda. This year Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed more than 30 bills into law that expand the freedom to vote and will safeguard election results in 2024 and beyond. Among these is a groundbreaking law that makes Michigan the first state to automatically register people to vote after they’ve been released from prison.
CLC strongly supported four bills that were signed into law on November 30. Broadly speaking, these new laws include major improvements to Michigan’s election process that will make it much harder for bad actors to carry out the kind of schemes we witnessed in 2020 — schemes aimed at overturning presidential election results in states like Michigan, as well as Wisconsin, Georgia and Arizona.
I hope lawmakers in other states will look at Michigan and recognize the benefits of pursuing an agenda that expands access to the ballot and requires voting maps that accurately reflect the will of the voting population.
Success in one state is the first step towards success in others. All of us who are part of the perennial effort to create a more perfect union can celebrate Michigan’s progress and use it to build support for similar gains across the nation.
Sincerely,
Trevor Potter
President, Campaign Legal Center
P.S. Can I interest you in an uplifting conversation that might be just the thing you need during the holidays? Please watch my recent CLC Conversation with Monica Guzman, author of, “I Never Thought of It That Way – How To Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations In Dangerously Divided Times.” If you’ve ever gotten into an argument with somebody you disagree with, this discussion is for you!
The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center is dedicated to advancing democracy through law at the federal, state and local levels, fighting for every American’s rights to responsive government and a fair opportunity to participate in and affect the democratic process.
