The following post was written by Jonathan Sharp. Jonathan is the CFO of the Birmingham, Alabama-based, Environmental Litigation Group, PC, a law firm specializing in toxic exposure cases that helps individuals injured by hazardous chemicals on US army installations. Over the past hundred years, the US army has dealt with the lasting consequences of its negligent handling and disposal of […]

For many years, I have been an unquestioning supporter of Ranked Choice Voting. In its purest form, it’s a way to have a multi-party political system that gives third (and fourth and …) parties a shot at getting their candidates elected into office and helps mitigate some of the worst parts of a two-party system like the one we ostensibly […]

There is a common convention that sunshine is the best disinfectant. While that does not apply to the COVID-19 pandemic (wearing a mask, washing your hands, using hand sanitizer, and getting vaccinated when you are eligible are the answers there, not sunshine), it does apply to another scourge that has plagued Michigan for decades; one that will hopefully be rectified […]

As news of Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers finally certifying Michigan’s 2020 election results sinks in, it’s worth drawing attention to the antics of hyper-partisan Board member Norman Shinkle in the process. While his Republican colleague Aaron Van Langevelde acted honorably, following Michigan’s law that requires the Board of State Canvassers to certify the election and voting YES to certify, […]

He’s working every day to provide essential resources, relief and information — including two upcoming telephone town halls. Here in Michigan, we’re fortunate to have two Senators — Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow — who always put the best interests of their constituents first. They’re both doing great work during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but Sen. Peters in particular is […]

Editor’s note: Since they took control of the state government in 2010, Republicans in our state legislature and executive branch have made voting for students unnecessarily difficult and complex. That’s a feature for them, not a bug. I asked Barb to explain the process so that students living in Michigan have all of the facts on how they can vote […]

With the passage of Proposal 3 in 2018, Michigan is seeing a significant increase in voters taking advantage of voting by absent voter ballots. In Ingham County, we have held three elections under the new law, and now know firsthand of the need for updates in Michigan Election Law and Bureau of Elections’ promulgated rules and required procedures as a […]

With the March 2020 Presidential Primary Election right around the corner, county, city, and township clerks are making preparations. We are also seeing an increase in voters utilizing the opportunity to vote via absent voter (AV) ballot (also known in some states as “Vote at Home”) since the passage of Proposal 3 in 2018. Local clerks are sending out Absent […]

The following opinion editorial was written by Cayley Winters, the West Michigan Communications Organizer for Progress Michigan. She is from Battle Creek and shares her perspective on Donald Trump and Mike Pence holding a rally there today, in the Congressional District of Congressman Justin Amash, an ardent opponent of Trump who left the Republican Party over his opposition to Trump’s […]

There are currently 23 Democratic presidential candidates (yeesh) for the November 2020 election and things are starting to heat up. Nineteen of those candidates visited Iowa recently in an effort to coax voters into jumping on their bandwagon, highlighting some of their most popular policy stances and sharing their personal stories. Soon enough, these candidates will come flocking to Michigan […]

We are excited to share this guest post from Dr. Ryan Shaw, assistant professor of music education at Michigan State University. Dr. Shaw received his Ph.D. in Music Education from Michigan State University and earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees in music education from the University of Michigan. His scholarly interests include arts education policy and the ways that policy affects […]