Using citizen lobbying as a force for change

“Citizen Lobbying: Advocating to Your Local Government” was recently presented virtually by the Democracy Academy, as a project of the Voters Not Politicians Education Fund (Voters Ed Fund).

Voters Not Politicians is a voter-led prodemocracy political reform movement in Michigan.

“Learning how lobbying can be used is a force for change at the local level,” said Alyson Grigsby, education programs manager For Voters Not Politicians.

Grigsby added the presentation was being held to help citizens understand their power as citizens and advocates to their local government. She pointed out the right to lobby is protected by the First Amendment and a way to petition the government for a redress or to give money.

According to Grigsby, citizen lobbying can look like contacting not only elected officials, but city managers and department heads.

“This could involve calling, sending emails, writing letters, attending meetings or inviting officials to your coffee hour or group meeting. It could involve lobbying your officials via public comment. You might also consider writing a letter to the editor of a local publication to gather public support and help find allies. This also brings attention to officials.”

Participants in the virtual event were invited to look at real-life case studies of citizens using their power to lobby their government. The case studies helped show the variety of issues and interests citizens can lobby for.

“Even if your goals are unsuccessful initially-and I want to put out initially-for getting something passed, you get that internal satisfaction of being connected to the community in general on something you’re passionate about,” said Grigsby.”…Sometimes there will be roadblocks to trying to get something adopted related to funding or understanding how it should be particularly implemented. I don’t want you to take this as a loss….It’s OK because it shows the people and you that this is something people can do by engaging directly with the democratic process.”

This story was originally published by Flint Courier News. Read more here: https://theflintcouriernews.com/using-citizen-lobbying-as-a-force-for-change/

Democracy Academy Off to a Great Start in 2024

While many eyes are focused on the 2024 presidential election cycle, Voters Ed Fund recognizes that in order for our democracy to be truly representative, communities across Michigan need to participate in every election, at every level.

That is why the Voters Ed Fund launched the Democracy Academy workshop series –  to ensure that voters can develop civic engagement skills that they can use beyond 2024.

On March 20th, Voters Ed Fund held the first of six virtual Democracy Academy workshops scheduled for this year. The focus of this inaugural workshop was Your Community Your Government–-Making the Case for Getting out the Vote in Local Elections. 

Like our in-person workshop series in 2023, this first workshop was designed to inform attendees about the widespread issue of low voter turnout in municipal elections compared to midterm and presidential elections. Attendees also explored various tactics to increase local voter turnout in their communities, from relational organizing to leveraging Michigan’s new voting laws such as early voting, and discussed long-term solutions such as moving municipal elections to the even years via a local ballot initiative to increase turnout.

Our first workshop received 51 attendees, more than half the number of total attendees during our entire 2023 in-person workshop series. However, like last year, attendees left wanting to develop additional skills to politically engage their communities. That’s why our remaining five workshops will build on the knowledge and skills of the first Democracy Academy session.

Our next workshop will focus on recent changes to Michigan’s voting laws, including those mandated by Proposal 22-2. You can sign up for our April 16th workshop or any of our following workshops below:

Interested in learning more about Democracy Academy or our other education fund programs? Want to get involved in developing or presenting one of these workshops? Reach out to Education Programs Manager Alyson Grigsby at alyson@votersnotpoliticians.com.

Democracy Academy teaches residents how to boost local political participation

Voters Not Politicians Education Fund (Voters Ed Fund) is relaunching Democracy Academy for its second year of empowering local residents to promote voting and civic participation in their communities! The first 2024 Democracy Academy workshop will be hosted virtually on Wednesday, March 20 at 6 p.m. The topic will be “Your Community Your Government: Making the Case for Getting out the Vote in Local Elections.”

In 2023, Voters Ed Fund launched Democracy Academy, a series of in-person workshops to combat low voter turnout in municipal elections statewide and expand local civic engagement. These workshops were targeted towards those who are starting their civic activism journey and looking to help their communities become more civically active in their local governments.

In its second year, Democracy Academy will introduce additional modules so that voters can take their civic activism to the next level. Attendees will learn about how the current election system encourages low turnout and the consequences of low voter participation on local government. Participants will also be provided with tools and techniques on how to engage neighbors in the political process.

“Every election matters, and local elections especially have an outsized impact on most folks’ day-to-day lives,” said Alyson Grigsby, Voters Ed Fund Education Programs Manager.

Grigsby added: “Unfortunately, many voters aren’t aware of how consequential these local elections can be. And since many local elections in Michigan happen at irregular times, odd number years or outside of November, a majority of voters are missing out on this opportunity to make their voices heard. Making the Case for Local Elections is geared towards folks who are already civically engaged to connect with their friends, family, and community, and help them see the value and importance of these local elections.”

This story was originally published by Flint Courier News. Read more here: https://theflintcouriernews.com/democracy-academy-teaches-residents-how-to-boost-local-political-participation/

Democracy Academy Ready to Reach a New Audience

Voters Not Politicians Education Fund’s voter education programs are in full swing preparing voters for the presidential elections and all of Michigan’s new voting options. However, just because it’s a presidential election year doesn’t mean that we’re abandoning our local- and state-level voter education. 

In 2023, Voters Ed Fund launched Democracy Academy, a series of in-person workshops to combat low voter turnout in municipal elections statewide and expand local civic engagement. We targeted these workshops to those who are starting their civic activism journey and looking to help their communities become more civically active in their local governments. 

Our volunteer-led team developed our first learning module, Making the Case for Local Election Voter Turnout. This module not only addressed the issue of low voter turnout in local elections but also empowered attendees to increase civic participation in their communities.

Over the course of 5 months, we hosted workshops in Kalamazoo, Warren, Monroe, Lansing, and Marquette. We partnered with 12 community organizations throughout the workshop series, including the Kalamazoo NAACP, APIAVote, NorthernVotes, the American Association of University Women, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters. 

Now, Democracy Academy is returning for its second year, and we’re introducing additional modules so that voters can take their civic activism to the next level. These monthly virtual workshops will increase accessibility to the content, as well as our overall impact and engagement. 

Our first workshop, Democracy Academy 101, will be held on March 20th, 2024 at 6 PM as a refresher course and introduction to our workshop series. 

Democracy Academy 101 March 20th 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Additional workshop topics will include:

  • Proposal 22-2: How These New Voting Laws Affect Michigan Voters
  • Citizen Lobbying Your Local Government
  • Participatory Budgeting: How To Take Part in Your Local Government’s Spending
  • Monitoring Your Local Elections
  • Starting a Local and Statewide Ballot Initiative

Interested in learning more about Democracy Academy or our other education fund programs? Please reach out to Education Programs Manager Alyson Grigsby at alyson@votersnotpoliticians.com.

Democracy Academy Empowering Civic Engagement: Volunteer Spotlight on Sheila Moore and Our Lansing Workshop

On October 24th, in Lansing, Voters Ed Fund hosted a Democracy Academy workshop that kindled a passion for civic engagement in our attendees.  We asked Sheila Moore, an inspiring local democracy advocate who played a pivotal role in facilitating the event, about her experience helping launch Democracy Academy in Lansing.

About the event: Democracy begins at the local level, but many voters are not making their voices heard. Local elections in the odd years barely reach more than 20% voter participation. Democracy Academy’s first class, “Making the Case for GOTV in Local Elections,” seeks to increase voter participation at the local level. The classroom-style workshop focuses on 4 key topics: how our current system encourages low turnout at the local level, the consequences of low voter participation, our recommended techniques to create positive change, and how to encourage others to make local elections a priority. 

Voters Ed Fund volunteer
Shelia Moore

About Sheila: Sheila Moore is an integral member of our volunteer team who helped make the Lansing workshop successful. She informed the class curriculum, performed extensive research to custom-tailor the class, and conducted exhaustive outreach efforts throughout the Lansing area to recruit attendees. We asked her a few questions about her experience helping launch Democracy Academy in Lansing.

What inspired you to volunteer for the Democracy Academy workshop in Lansing? “I wanted to be a part of civic education. Voter registration is essential, however, voter education is vital to elevate voter participation by emphasizing why voting matters.”

What advice or encouragement would you offer to someone considering volunteering for a similar event in the future? “They should jump in and learn about Voters Not Politicians overall and then determine where they would like to target their efforts. There are many ways to get involved.”

Can you share your most memorable moment from the event? “When the participants were made aware of the ballot proposal to amend the Lansing City Charter. I felt it was a light bulb-shining experience because little has been said about it.“

What professional skills or life experiences do you feel served you well in volunteering for this event? “In my career as a researcher with the state legislature, I would be involved in conducting new member orientations where we helped newly elected legislators understand the services we provide and helped them to navigate the landscape of state government and the legislative process. That experience helped me to explain to members how staff services can help them to serve their constituents and to develop policy.”

Do you plan to volunteer with VNP in the future? “I plan to continue to be involved in Voters Not Politicians, Democracy Academy, and the work we plan to do for the 2024 election.”

Would you like to share special thanks or shout-outs to individuals or teams you worked with during the event? “Working with VNP staff Charlie Beall and Alyson Grigsby, and volunteer Verlecia Kelley has been such an enriching experience. Being around people who have a shared passion to empower voters and to strengthen democracy is the fulfillment of something I’ve wanted to be a part of for a long time.”

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers? “Our votes matter. The true power is in the collective participation of voters. If that were not true, there wouldn’t be such a battle to keep it!”

See the Summer Success from Voters Ed Fund

During 2023, we at the Voters Ed Fund have been working on three main projects to increase voter education statewide and inform voters about their expanded voting rights: 

Proposal 22-2 Implementation: Also known as our Clerk Engagement program, volunteers across the state are working with their local city and township clerks to identify gaps in implementing Proposal 22-2 and provide grassroots support to ensure that Michigan voters can benefit from expanded voting access in next year’s primary elections. In total, we have recruited 222 clerk engagement volunteers across 45 counties, and have received 70 reports from interviews with municipal and county clerks, representing a total of 1,764,110 registered voters.

Facilitator from APIA Vote leads workshop in Warren.

Democracy Academy: In 2023, the Voters Ed Fund launched Democracy Academy, a series of in-person workshops to identify short-term and long-term solutions to low voter turnout in municipal elections statewide and expand local civic engagement. Our volunteer-led team has been hard at work over the summer to roll out our pilot workshops featuring our first learning module, Making the Case for Local Election Voter Turnout. We are pleased to announce that we have hosted three workshops in Kalamazoo, Warren, and Monroe, garnering 65 attendees total. Throughout this workshop series, we have partnered with local community organizations including the Kalamazoo NAACP, APIA Vote, and Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters. We are continuing our statewide tour throughout September with workshops in Lansing on September 9th and in Marquette on September 12th. 

My City Votes (MCV): The Voters Ed Fund is working hand-in-hand with local clerks, mayors, and other trusted community leaders across the state to make sure that voters, especially those in underrepresented communities, know their voting options and have confidence in local and state election systems. My City Votes is a strategic collaboration with city officials and community partners to maximize voter education of expanded voting services and critical voting deadlines, prioritizing voters with the lowest propensity to vote. MCV will collaborate with city officials in six communities during the 2023-2024 election cycle: Flint, Pontiac, Grand Rapids, Inkster, Benton Harbor, and Muskegon Heights.

Interested in learning more or getting involved in our education fund programs? Please reach out to Education Programs Manager Alyson Grigsby at alyson@votersnotpoliticians.com.