What is it? What bodies does it cover? Public notice requirements, public comment requirements, the public’s right to record or broadcast and more.

Tap here for Attorney General Dana Nessel’s handbook.

Michigan Country and the League of Women Voters Lansing Area are excited to build relationships in the rural communities of Vermontville, Charlotte and Eaton Rapids. We will be hosting community engagement events in 2025. We will begin in July and August 2025 with Community Care Drives in each community.The drives serve as an opportunity to build community partnerships and have conversations with individuals who show up. Everyone will be encouraged to join the Community Chat the following week.  We will talk about the work that Michigan Country and the League of Women Voters have done and what they can do. We want to hear from the community members - what is going well in your community and where are the gaps! Both are nonpartisan organizations that focus on community welfare.

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Seasons of the UP w a Side of Civics offers this handy guide if you want to harvest the culinary delights wild nature has to offer. Presented by Michelle Jarvie, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Lake State University.

Learn how to prepare dishes with:

• Morel Mushrooms

• Wild Leek

• Fiddlehead Fern

Tap here to download the pdf file filled with great advice and recipes.

Executive Director Joanne Galloway goes to Washington

She joined the National Coalition for Public Education (NCPE) and The Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools (AROS) standing against school vouchers and any cuts to public schools from June 11 to June 12, 2025. There were educators, parents, students and community leaders from over a dozen states.

A few weeks ago the House passed its budget reconciliation bill, which includes $20 billion for school vouchers - formerly the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) now the Qualified Elementary and Secondary Education Scholarships. This bill started out at $100 billion, and the pressure from AROS, National Coalition for Public Education, Public School Strong and others has cut it down to $20 billion. The Senate is now working on the bill, and we want them to cut it to zero. A 2-pager on the bill is here.  We’ll be providing additional, up-to-date information on the Senate’s work when you get here. 

Learn more about the Michigan Petition Process

Michigan Petition Manual:
Statewide Initiative, Referendum, Constitutional Amendment Petitions, Partisan Nominating, and Petitions for State and Federal Office

This manual outline legal requirements and provides guidance to those interested in launching a statewide petition drive to initiate new legislation, amend or repeal existing laws, subject newly enacted laws to a referendum vote, amend the state constitution, or nominate a candidate for certain statewide partisan offices.

This manual reflects changes to the petition sampling process approved by the Board of State Canvassers on October 20, 2023.

There are new filing deadlines and requirements in effect for the 2024 election cycle, which will be found in Appendix A. This manual also highlights best practices which, although not legally required, will minimize the risk that an error could disqualify the petition.

Candidate ballot access and the statewide ballot proposal petitioning process are governed by the Michigan Election Law and overseen by the Secretary of State and Board of State Canvassers.

Once a petition is filed with the Secretary of State, signatures are subjected to a verification process and the Board of State Canvassers determines whether the petition contains enough valid signatures to qualify for placement on the ballot.

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Notes from Seasons of the UP, Michelle Jarvie

Morel mushroom hunting map (DNR):

www.michigan.gov/dnr/things-to-do/morels

Great information and study guides for identifying edible mushrooms in our area:

Midwest American Mycological Information:

https://midwestmycology.org/

With a side of Civics

May Revenue Estimating Conference

Michigan Board of State Canvassers Friday, May 16 Agenda

Michigan’s public school system serves nearly 1.5 million students in over 3,400 public schools and public charter academies. Previously, schools were funded through local property taxes, but a 1994 school finance overhaul (Proposal A) centralized the majority of school funding at the state level.

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The Trump Administration's battle against the press took a troubling turn this week, even after a judge ruled that it was unconstitutional for the administration to bar The Associated Press from White House events. And it's a turn that will likely impact the coverage you read in The News every day.

The judge's ruling was clear: "Under the First Amendment, if the Government opens its doors to some journalists ... it cannot then shut those doors to other journalists because of their viewpoints," wrote U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee. "The Constitution requires no less."

The White House curtailed AP's access only because it did not conform to the president's wishes on how to refer to the Gulf of Mexico, which he renamed the Gulf of America − a clear case of viewpoint discrimination and a violation of the First Amendment.

But instead of fully restoring AP's access, the White House this week took a rather draconian step: It removed designated spots in the press pool for all of the major wire services (AP, Reuters and Bloomberg). Instead of being there every day, the wire services will rotate into two pool spots reserved for print media reporters from about thirty publications across the country.

That's not conducive to strong coverage. One reason that all major newspapers, television stations and radio stations utilize wire services is for their speed, accuracy and their knowledge of the subject matter. Using the AP pool reports allows us, at The News, to put our two Washington reporters to work on stories of particular interest to our readers.

"The changes to the press pool today show that the White House is  just using a new means to do the same thing: retaliate against news organizations for coverage the White House doesn’t like," said Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents Association, which for the past century (and up until February) assigned pool duties for White House coverage.

As members of the press, we see efforts to control the message from all sorts of politicians in all parties, but rarely as egregious as this. We have not silently endured attacks on press freedom from any politician or party and we won't stand silently by this time.

I've been in touch with the AP and we'll keep working to restore the access that gets the coverage you want and need.

Regards,
Gary Miles ∣ Editor and Publisher
Detroit News ∣ gmiles@detroitnews.com

[TAP Here and let’s discuss this on Facebook}

[DATE], 2024

Michigan House
PO Box 30014
Lansing, MI 48909-7514

RE: PASS THE MICHIGAN VOTING RIGHTS ACT (S.B. 401, 402, 403, & 404)

Dear Members of the Michigan House,

We write to urge you to pass the Michigan Voting Rights Act (“MIVRA” or S.B. 401, 402, 403, and 404), which passed the Senate in September. If enacted, the MIVRA would be one of the most significant civil rights laws in Michigan’s history. It will cement Michigan’s recent pro-democracy gains by protecting the freedom to vote for all Michiganders.

Heading into 2025 and beyond, the best way we can prepare for attacks on voting rights and democracy at the federal level is to pass the MIVRA now. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of Michigan voters want their representatives to prioritize passing a MIVRA. This chance won't come again soon, and we cannot afford to wait.

The MIVRA is a top priority for the undersigned organizations.

By passing the MIVRA, Michigan has an opportunity to create a more equitable and inclusive democracy. Despite recent progress, voters of color, non-English speakers, and voters with disabilities in Michigan continue to face barriers to equal participation in our democracy. In recent years, Michigan has experienced racially targeted voter intimidation and efforts to disenfranchise voters of color. Michigan needs stronger protections to address discriminatory voting practices.

Federal law alone does not do enough to protect Michigan voters. Section 2 of the Federal Voting Rights Act (“VRA”) provides crucial protections against racial discrimination in voting, but these protections have been weakened by federal courts in recent years. In Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, for instance, the Supreme Court imposed new burdens on voters seeking to vindicate their voting rights in court under Section 2. Moreover, litigation under Section 2 can be expensive, time consuming, and complex. And, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which covers Michigan, further weakened Section 2 of the federal VRA by barring “coalition” claims, i.e., claims arising when plaintiffs seek a remedy vindicating the rights of two or more minority groups facing similar discrimination from a redistricting map or method of election. Now more than ever, we need state leaders to stand up for equal, inclusive democracy, and Michigan now has the opportunity to do just that.

The MIVRA will make Michigan’s democracy more inclusive by: 

• Expanding protections for voters with disabilities.

• Creating a central public hub for election data and information to promote transparency.

• Expanding language assistance for voters with limited English proficiency.

• Enshrining robust protections against voter suppression and vote dilution into state law.

• Protecting access to curbside voting.

• Ensuring that voters receive advanced notice of changes to key electoral procedures.  

• Providing efficient and practical ways to resolve barriers to equal participation in local democracy before litigation occurs.

• Launching a “preapproval” remedy that allows courts to hold local governments accountable for up to ten years following a voting rights violation.

The MIVRA builds upon successful state VRAs that have already passed in California, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, New York, Connecticut, and Minnesota. The MIVRA will carry this momentum forward and provide some of the most robust state-level voting protections in the country.

Michigan can and should cement its role as a national leader in protecting the rights of voters of color. We urge you to support the MIVRA and we stand ready to work with you to secure these crucial protections for Michigan voters.

Sincerely,

[List signing organizations]

—-Use this link to download your letter—-

Surprise, a long time required practice that happens before every election in all municipalities that offers citizens the opportunity to attend, see how the election equipment works and how the ballots are tabulated! The tests serve to verify that the equipment is prepared to count the ballots properly. Become a Democracy Defender and check out a Public Logic and Accuracy Test near you!

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Today: If you’re planning to vote from home, you can request an absentee ballot online or submit a paper application. Of course, if you’re on the Permanent Mail Ballot List, you can skip this step. (However, if you’re on the permanent application list, you still must apply for your ballot.) 

September 26: First day that you can vote in person, with an absentee ballot, at your city or township clerk’s office. If you vote at your city or township clerk’s office, you will place your absentee ballot into an envelope to be tabulated later.

October 7: Communities may begin offering early voting on this date, although most will not do so for another couple of weeks. If you vote early at an early voting site, you will be able to put your ballot into the tabulator, just like you do on Election Day.

October 15: If you want to vote from home, we recommend that you request your ballot by this date to give yourself enough time to receive your ballot, complete it, and return it to your city or township clerk by the deadline. (For most voters, your ballot must be received by your local clerk by 8 p.m. on Election Day (November 5) to count. But if you’re serving in the military or living overseas, your ballot must be postmarked by November 5 and received by November 11 to count.)

Take a look at our 2024 Annual report.

Link

Take a look at the media we ran in 2024.

Link