An email from Voters Not Politicians (VNP) predicts that if a certain popular ballot measure gets enough signatures “it’s likely to pass.”
Great! Wonderful to see democracy in action, eh?
Not so much for this leftwing political action committee, however. “We have to keep this proposal off of Michigan’s ballot in 2026,” the email went on.
The initiative petition in question is Michigan’s Citizen Only Voting Amendment, which (1) clearly establishes that “only” U.S. citizens are eligible voters in all state and local elections, (2) mandates that the Secretary of State check the voter rolls for citizenship status, and (3) requires photo ID to vote.
Polls have shown upwards of 80 percent of Michigan voters support the measure. Perhaps spurred on by the noncitizens who were shown to have voted unimpeded in last November’s presidential election.
How will VNP honchos accomplish their mission of suppressing a petition for a public vote on this ballot initiative? They urge folks to “learn how to peacefully disrupt circulation.”
“Disrupt”? That doesn’t quite go with “peacefully.”
Last month, Charlie Kirk was assassinated speaking on a college campus. According to a recent poll,* the percentage of Democrats who believe “Americans may have to resort to violence” to achieve political goals has doubled this year. Back in April, a survey found that a majority of self-identified “left-of-center” respondents agreed it was “somewhat justified to murder President Trump.” The same survey found that 15 percent found it “completely justified.”
Destroy democracy to save it?
As chairman of Americans for Citizen Voting: We won’t let you. Stop trying to block us and others from speaking. Instead, speak out against our measure to your heart’s content.
I also suggest looking for a rallying slogan that fits better with “peacefully.”
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
* From 12 percent of Democrats saying so in May of 2024 to 28 percent this year. The percentage of Republicans believing violence may become necessary is higher still — 29 percent in 2024 and 31 percent in 2025. A whopping 77 percent of the public cited political violence as “a major concern.”
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3 replies on “Mostly Democratic”
How is it the business of the state government in Lansing — or the citizens of Saginaw — who the residents of Flint allow to vote in Flint’s local elections?
Are those excluded from voting in Michigan’s state and local elections also going to be exempt from the laws the legislature passes and the taxes the legislature levies?
You’re attempting to address a problem in almost exactly the wrong manner. Instead of allowing those paying some tax to participate in a more general programme of demoktesis, you should argue for paring-back the power that Lansing has over everyone.
I agree 100% that Lansing’s power over everyone should be pared back (since I’m an anarchist, the amount of paring I support is 100%).
But, given the existence of a system and your mention of taxes, I should point out that one of the rallying cries of the American revolution was “no taxation without representation.”
And one of the tenets of the American system in general is federalism, which represents a form of decentralism. So, again: Why should voters in Saginaw and Flint and Ann Arbor get to decide who may vote in Detroit’s city elections? Shouldn’t that be up to Detroiters?