2021 Civic Education Series
Redistricting Our County Districts
Did you know that that Proposal 2 passed in 2018 to reform redistricting does not apply to county commissioner districts? Learn about the process of determining the voting districts inside our local counties. Mark Brewer is the guest presenter from the May 13 LWV event.
To get involved in observing county redistricting or to practice drawing maps for our counties in the E.U.P., email us! LWVEUP [at] gmail.com
Health Care For All: What is Single-Payer Health Care?
The LWV of Eastern Upper Peninsula and LWV of Northern Lower Michigan cosponsored a webinar on single-payer health care featuring guest speaker, Molly Brennan of Michigan for Single Payer Healthcare. Ms. Brennan argued the case for a single-payer system on Monday, May 17, 2021. To watch the recording of the Ms. Brennan's presentation, click the YouTube video below. In the video, you'll find links and contact information to learn more about this policy proposal.
Michigan Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission: 2021 Update
On April 16, 2021, Megan Matyjasik, League member and LWV of Michigan Independent Redistricting Commission taskforce member facilitated a virtual training on what the MI Independent Redistricting Commission is, the work it will do, and how the public can participate in the state redistricting process. To learn more about ending gerrymandering in Michigan and to get involved in the League's redistricting oversight work, reach out to Ms. Matyjasik at kinneymc [at] gmail.com
To learn more about how the state of Michigan is facilitating the process for fair maps and to find upcoming commission meeting dates, check out the Secretary of State website here.
Money in Michigan Politics: 2020 Review
On April 14th, 2021, in partnership with LWV of Northern Lower MI, our Leagues hosted a virtual forum on Dark Money in Michigan Politics. Simon Schuster from the Michigan Campaign Finance Network shared his organization's deep research in local, state, and national campaign finance reports and how the 2020 campaign blew records for the amount of money spent ($510 million! in Michigan).
The presentation by Mr. Schuster was recorded to YouTube. To learn about Michigan's campaign finance rules and the 2020 election spending, visit our YouTube channel here. Please don't forget to subscribe (helps other community members find critical voter information like this event).
Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)
On March 18, 2021, in partnership with LWV of Char-Emmet County, we hosted a virtual forum about ranked choice voting, what it is and how it works. Dr. Kevin Deegan-Krause from Wayne State University and Rank MI Vote shared his work and research about this ballot style and how it potentially could end a variety of election issues, including helping voters feel like they have more than one choice on Election Day. To watch the recordng of this forum and learn about ranked choice voting, click here and watch our YouTube recording. To reach out to Dr. Deegan-Krause for more information about RCV, email him at kdk [at] wayne.edu.
Fall 2020 Election Candidate Forums (archive)
Chippewa County Commission
Chippewa County Commission Candidates in competitive districts: Distric 2: Jim Martin and Anthony "Tony" Stackpoole, District 3 Erik Baron and Don McLean, and District 5 Robert Savoie and Raymond Johnson. Unfortunelty, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Stackpoole were unable to attend the virtual forum.
First LWVEUP virtual candidate forum was a success! If you missed the Chippewa County Candidaete forum on October 7th, you can catch it on our YouTube Channel here: https://youtu.be/9e5_VFyEgwE
Michigan's 107th House District
Learn about the candidates who want to represent you in Lansing. The person who wins the election will work on polices that cover education, criminal justice, voting, Enbridge/Line 5, water quality, transportation, housing, and a lot more!
Below is a virtual forum for candidates who ran for office for the November 2020 Election. This forum represents Michigan's 107th House district between Democratic candidate, Jim Page, and Republican candidate, John Damoose.
Applying for the Michigan Independent Redistricting Commission (archive)
This is your chance to represent your state, learn more about the communities across Michigan, create fair districts for all voters, and be part of the solution to help fix the divisive politics in our state. And, you can get paid for doing all of this democracy work! Apply for the Citizen's Redistricting Commission. Apply between now and June 1st, 2020. **You must have the application notarized before submitting. Find the application and other information about the Commission on the Secretary of State's website.
2020 Census: You Count! (archive)
Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau conducs a census to determine the number of people living in the United States.
Who is counted? Everyone living at the address matters and everyone needs to be counted, including children and babies.
How do you fill it out? Respond online using the unique Census ID that will be mailed to you (March 2020). If you don't have internet access, you can respond by phone or mail. Between April and July 2020, reminder letters and postcards will be sent to people reminding them to fill out their Census form. Watch the video below to learn more about the Census. To retreive resources and FAQs, visit www.becountedmi2020.com. Be counted this 2020!
