Election 2022 Weekly Update
Oct 18, 2022
Political Update – October 17 (22 days until polls close)
President Barack Obama to join Governor Whitmer and MDP for GOTV Rally
President Barack Obama will travel to Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 29, to join Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, and Michigan Democrats up and down the ballot for a GOTV rally in metro Detroit (time TBD). The event will focus on the stakes of the race and the core rights at risk in Michigan. Additional details to come. If you're interested in attending, sign up here
This event is one of MANY coming up as the Whitmer for Governor bus tour of the state kicks off later this week (including expected stops this weekend in Detroit, Flint, Marquette, Traverse City, Grand Rapids, Allendale, Holland and Lansing) – we’ll share more details on all these events as we have them, and will be lining up our weekly Red For Ed canvasses with bus tour stops whenever possible (see below).
Current Volunteer Opportunities
If you need a reminder of how important it is to sign up to volunteer, see this tweet: "State Rep. Pam Hornberger, who’s running for the state Senate, tells crowd if Tudor Dixon is elected, Republicans can begin overhauling education in Michigan from the top to the bottom."
(This is the same Pam Hornberger who said at an event with Betsy DeVos last year that MEA and many teachers were “horrible”.)
MEMBER TO MEMBER: REMEMBER TO VOTE POSTCARDS
Write postcards to fellow MEA members to remind them to vote for pro-education candidates this November. Postcards will be mailed to you with address pre-printed. We will also send you post-card stamps. All you need to do is write a note! (We will include a couple of suggestions to get you started, too!)
Sign up here: https://forms.gle/tXKPiho4qUsGmQjQA
RED FOR ED CANVASSES
We'll knock doors and talk with folks directly about how important this election is for our students and school employees. The full schedule is below – sign up for one (or more!) today. All canvassers will receive training and a Red for Ed T-shirt!
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Traverse City |
10/22/22 |
TBD (Bus Tour Stop) |
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Southfield |
10/22/22 |
10:00 AM |
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Grand Rapids |
10/22/22 |
10:00 AM |
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Taylor |
10/29/22 |
10:00 AM |
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Ann Arbor- with special guest Congresswoman Debbie Dingell |
10/30/22 |
10:00 AM |
VOLUNTEER FORM
Complete the form at www.mea.org/volunteer to make sure you are alerted to other volunteer opportunities in your area! We have added a new option for volunteering in school board races. Please take 30 seconds and sign up so we can get your looped in to local activities.
Election Day Volunteering
Our partners need help with Election Day activities. Please sign up below:
· Voter Protection Efforts: There is a great need is for Election Day volunteers to observe and advocate for voters in polling places and absentee ballot counting rooms. Sign up for Zoom training to be a polling place challenger here, an absentee counting room challenger outside of Detroit here, or a Detroit absentee counting room challenger here. And if you have any questions about voting, please contact the MDP Voter Assistance Hotline at 1-833-648-6837 (1-833-MI-VOTES).
· NEW Pre-processing Observers: In September, the state legislature approved a four-bill package allowing for the pre-processing of absentee ballots in large communities starting two days ahead of the election. In light of strong GOP and "Big Lie" scrutiny of this process, we are taking nothing for granted and intend to keep a watchful eye throughout. Sign up for Absentee Ballot Pre-Processing Observer.
Getting mail from anti-education candidates – let us know! ESPECIALLY SCHOOL BOARD RACES!
If you’re getting mail from non-recommended candidates (about education or other issues), we’d love to see it to help inform response strategies. Take pictures of mail that you get and send them along with the date you got it to publicaffairs@mea.org.
Upcoming MEJC School Board Candidate Forums
Our partners at MEJC are hosting several public events across the state to hear from school board candidates on their positions. Please share with your networks.
JACKSON PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE FORUM - PRESENTED BY SAC AND JACKSON BLM
Wednesday, October 19, 2022 6:00 PM • Jackson King Recreation Center•1107 Adrian Rd, Jackson, MI 49203 US
YPSILANTI COMMUNITY SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION FORUM - PRESENTED BY SAC, MBK, WEROC AND EDUCATE YOUTH
Tuesday, November 01, 2022 6:00 PM • Virtual
VAN BUREN PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION FORUM - PRESENTED BY SAC AND WESTERN WAYNE COUNTY NAACP
Thursday, October 20, 2022 6:00 PM • Virtual
WAYNE-WESTLAND COMMUNITY SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION FORUM - PRESENTED BY SAC AND WESTERN WAYNE COUNTY NAACP
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 6:00 PM • John Glenn High School Auditorium•36105 Marquette St, Westland, MI 48185 US
DETROIT SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE FORUM AND FALL ELECTION EVENTS SIGN-UP (ESPANOL)
Thursday, October 20, 2022 5:30 PM • TBD•TBD, Detroit, MI 48202 US
PONTIAC SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE FORUMS
Thursday, October 20, 2022 6:00 PM • Shilo Baptist Church •474 University Dr., Pontiac, MI 48342 US
DETROIT SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE FORUM AND FALL ELECTION EVENTS SIGN-UP
Thursday, October 20, 2022 5:30 PM • Focus Hope•1400 Oakman Blvd. , Detroit, MI 48238 US
WARREN CON: HOW SCHOOL BOARDS WORK- COMMUNITY LEARNING SESSION AND SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE FORUM
Tuesday, October 18, 2022 5:30 PM • Warren Community Center•5460 Arden Ave, Warren, MI 48092 US
WARREN CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL BOARD FORUM
Tuesday, October 18, 2022 5:30 PM • Warren Community Center•5460 Arden Ave,, Warren, MI 48091 US
* Sent to MEA local leaders, board members and staff *
Questions? Contact Jessica Lumbreras (jlumbreras@mea.org), Amanda West (awest@mea.org) or Liza Parkinson (lparkinson@mea.org).
Amanda West
Temporary UniServ Consultant- Member and Political Organizer
Michigan Education Association
(517) 214-7529
Member to Member
Sep 26, 2022
Greetings colleagues!
We are launching a member-to-member voting communication program, and I could use your help.
We have identified thousands of MEA members that are infrequent voters—those that haven’t voted for several years, often skip midterm elections or perhaps have only voted once in the past decade. We want to help connect them to voting resources—why they should vote, how to request absentee ballots, who our MEA recommended candidates are and more. We will connect with them in one of two subprograms: “target districts” or “the rest of the state.”
Target Districts
There are 61 school districts that have over 20 of these infrequent voter members (list below.) We want to recruit at least one if not many more members (both current and retired) in each of these districts to do peer to peer contact. As you all know, folks respond best when approached by folks with similar interests/backgrounds/networks. So having someone in their own district reach out is the goal. Here are the targets:
Rest of the State
We will need dozens of volunteers outside of those target districts to contact members in all other parts of the state.
Technology
We will utilize a platform called WAVE Michigan for texting, calling and emailing. This easy to use web-based program will allow us to reach members and check in with them regularly to ensure they’ve requested an absentee ballot, remind them to return it, know where to find their polling place, find the recommended candidates, etc.
Project Timeline
Week of September 19- Recruit participants
Week of September 26- Continue recruitment and train participants via zoom (training date TBD, will be recorded)
Week of October 3- Program Launch
What to do next
- Volunteer to participate! (Open to members, retirees and staff) REGISTER HERE
- Help me find volunteers in the target districts. Share with your colleagues!
Please reach out if you have any questions!
Amanda West
Temporary UniServ Consultant- Member and Political Organizer
Michigan Education Association
(517) 214-7529
