ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan

ACLU And Advancement Project Challenge Unlawful Disenfranchisement Of Michigan Resident

Wife Of U.S. Serviceman Was Target Of Unlawful Statewide Voter Purge Program

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2009

DETROIT – Today, Advancement Project, the American Civil Liberties Union and Pepper Hamilton LLP filed a motion on behalf of Lisa A. Blehm – a Michigan resident who was improperly disenfranchised in the November election – that would allow her to join a previously filed voting rights lawsuit challenging the state's unlawful voter purge programs. The motion was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, Michigan Bureau of Elections Director Christopher M. Thomas and Standish City Clerk Rebecca Lakin.

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Judge Rules Michigan Voter Purge Program Violates Federal Law

Advancement Project And ACLU Hail Decision Blocking Unlawful Voter Purging

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2008

DETROIT - In a major victory for voting rights, a judge today ruled that Michigan’s voter removal program violates federal law and ordered the state to stop illegally purging voters from the rolls. The decision comes in a lawsuit filed last month by Advancement Project, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Michigan and the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP.

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Advancement Project, ACLU Sue Secretary Of State Over Unlawful Voter Purging

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 18, 2008

DETROIT – Advancement Project, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Michigan and the law firm of Pepper Hamilton LLP filed a federal lawsuit late yesterday challenging two statewide voter purge programs that could potentially disfranchise hundreds of thousands of Michigan voters in advance of the November 2008 presidential election. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Detroit against Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, Michigan Bureau of Elections Director Christopher M. Thomas and Ypsilanti Clerk Frances McMullen. > Full Story

ACLU Wins Federal Lawsuit Challenging Michigan Primary Election Law

IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 26, 2008

DETROIT – The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan applauded a federal judge’s ruling today barring the Michigan Secretary of State from providing the party preference declarations of voters solely to the two major political parties of the State in accordance with the primary election law. The lawsuit was filed in January on behalf of the Green Party of Michigan, Libertarian Party of Michigan, the Reform Party of Michigan, the Metro Times and Winning Strategies, a political consulting firm.

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ACLU of Michigan Files Federal Lawsuit Challenging Primary Election Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 11, 2008

DETROIT - The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan announced today a federal lawsuit challenging the new primary law that requires the Michigan Secretary of State to provide party preference declarations solely to the two major political parties of the State.  The law, passed in August of 2007, makes it a misdemeanor for others, including political parties, journalists, academics or historians, to have access or use the lists. The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Green Party of Michigan, Libertarian Party of Michigan, the Reform Party of Michigan, the Metro Times and Winning Strategies, a political consulting firm.

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Know Your Voting Rights

If Your Rights Are Violated, call the ACLU 

MICHIGAN VOTER RIGHTS

Polling Place Hours:   Polling places are open from 7 a.m.-8 p.m.

Application.  At your polling place on election day, you must fill out an application to vote form showing your name and address.  If you name is then found on the voter list, you have the right to receive a ballot and to vote.

No Identification Required.  You do not have to show identification of any kind, including a photo ID, unless you are a first-time voter in Michigan and did not register to vote in person at a government agency.  You do not have to show your voter identification card.

Right to Vote if Your Name is Missing.  If your name is not on the voter list at the polling place where you go to vote, you have the right to file a provisional ballot and to be told after the election if your ballot was counted.   You must sign an affidavit saying you are a registered voter in the precinct in which you vote.

Right to Vote Free from Harassment.  You have the right to vote without being harassed by anyone, including being asked about child support, debts, or any other matter.  The election officials are obligated to protect you from harassment.

Right to Vote if in Line when Polls Close.  If you are standing in line when the polls close at 8 p.m., you have the right to vote.

Right to Instructions and Sample Ballot.  You have the right to see a sample ballot and to ask for and receive instructions on all aspects of the voting process.

Right to Assistance.  If you are blind, unable to read or right, or otherwise challenged, you have the right to be assisted in the voting booth by a person of your choosing, so long as the person is not your employer, your employer’s agent, or an officer or agent in your union.

Right to Correct Mistakes.  You have the right to a new ballot if you make mistakes on your ballot.  If the ballot counting machine rejects your ballot because of errors, you have the right to receive a new ballot and vote again.

Right to Take your Time.  You have the right to take as much time as you need.  Your voting time cannot be arbitrarily limited.

Right of Felons to Vote.  Felons have the right to vote if not in prison.

Right to Vote if Challenged.  Others can challenge your right to vote, based on reliable information that you are ineligible because you are not 18, not a U.S. citizen, or not a resident of the precinct where you are voting.  If you are challenged, an elections inspector will challenge you.  You have the right, after swearing truthfully to the facts of your eligibility, to receive and vote a challenged ballot.

Right to Vote if You Have Moved.  If you have moved within 60 days of the election and have not changed your registration, you have the right to vote one last time in the precinct where you are registered, if you have proper identification and fill out a cancellation of your old registration and an application for registration at your new address.

Right to Use a Sample Ballot, Endorsement List, or Slate Card.  You have the right to take these into the voting booth.

Right to Vote a Secret Ballot.  You have the right to vote a secret ballot.

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Election 2004

Q & A 

MAKES STUDENT VOTING EASY!

 

Should I Vote at School or at Home?

Students in Michigan have the choice of voting either in their college town or in their hometown.   If you are a Michigan resident voting in Michigan, the address on your voter registration card must match the address on your driver’s license.  So, just decide whether it is easiest to vote at home or at school and take the following simple steps to exercise your most fundamental right!  And don’t be shut out -- the deadline for changing your voting place or registering to vote is October 4, 2004!

 

For Michigan Residents: 

How do I Vote at School?

To be able to vote where you attend college, your driver’s license must list your campus address. It is easy to update your address on your license and voter registration card and to register to vote by going to www.michigan.gov/vote.  Just click on “How do I Register to Vote?” and scroll down to “Mail-In Forms.”  You will receive a new voter registration card and a new address sticker for your license in the mail, free of charge.  Use the same website to find your polling place.

Changing your driver’s license address won’t affect your financial aid or health insurance. Your auto insurance rates could go up or down - check with your insurance agent.  You can always vote absentee if your rates will go up.  It is easy and free to change your address when you move by going to www.michigan.gov/vote.

 For Michigan Residents: 

How Do I Vote at Home?

If you want to confirm that you are registered in your hometown or want to register, go to www.michigan.gov/vote. If you need to change your address, click on “How do I Register to Vote?” and scroll down to Mail-In Forms.

               If you don’t want to travel back home, it is easy to vote absentee (see below).

 What If I’m An Out-of-State Student?

If you want to vote in Michigan, you must fill out a Michigan Voter Registration Form. Go to www.michigan.gov/vote, visit the nearest Secretary of State office, or your City or Town Clerk to register. Out-of-State students can maintain an out-of-state driver’s license address and continue to use the family home as a fixed address to receive important mail such as tax forms, financial aid forms, etc.

 

If you want to vote in your home state, make sure to register or confirm your registration back home. Go to www.rockthevote.com to register to vote in your home state or search the web for your home state’s Secretary of State contact information.

         You can either travel back home to vote or vote by absentee ballot. Check with your hometown clerk for more information.

 

Voting Absentee

You are eligible for an absentee ballot anytime you won’t be in the city or town in which you are registered on Election Day.

To vote by absentee ballot in Michigan, you must apply in writing to the town clerk where you are registered.  Click here for an request form  or go to either www.aclumich.org or www.michigannaacp.org.  You can also call or go in person to your City or Town Clerk’s office. Find the phone number and address of your City or Town Clerk’s office at www.michigan.gov/vote.

To request an absentee ballot to vote out-of-state, contact either the Secretary of State’s office in your home state, or the City or Town Clerk’s office in the town that you are from. They will mail you a pre-printed application form at your campus address. Absentee ballot request deadlines vary state-to-state, so make your request as soon as possible if you know you will not be voting at home.

You cannot vote absentee if you’ve registered by mail and you are voting in Michigan for the first time.  However, if you registered in person, you may vote absentee if you will be out of town on the day of the election.

Your absentee ballot must be received on or before Election Day, so the sooner you send apply for an absentee ballot the better.

This information is provided by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the NAACP, both non-partisan organizations. Visit www.aclumich.org to learn more about the ACLU or to learn more about the NAACP, go to www.michigannaacp.org.

 

 

 

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