An hour northeast of Ann
Arbor,
at
Oakland
University,
incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
and
Republican
challenger
Tudor Dixon met to defend their
platforms in front of Michigan
voters for the second and final time
before the Nov. 8 election.
During the first debate, held
at
the
WOOD-TV
studio
in
Grand Rapids on Oct. 13, the
two
gubernatorial
candidates
discussed their approaches to hot
topic issues like abortion, Proposal
3, gun control and public education.
Libertarian
candidates
for
Congress, secretary of state and
governor gathered outside to raise
awareness for their campaigns
and engage passersby about their
platforms.
In
an
interview
with
The
Michigan
Daily,
Libertarian
gubernatorial
candidate
Mary
Buzuma
highlighted
her
support for student opportunity
scholarship
programs
and
reducing government regulations
on healthcare. She also said she
feels the debate should have
included third-party candidates
like herself.
“You
need
more
voices
—
and not just (in) politics, but in
government, period,” Buzuma said.
“Because if not, you’ve just got two
groups that are just going to stay in
their own echo chambers.”
The debate was moderated by
Chuck Stokes, editorial and public
affairs director of WXYZ, Elle
Meyers, political reporter for Fox
47, and Doug Reardon, anchor and
reporter for Fox 17. Candidates
answered questions submitted by
Michigan residents ahead of time
and addressed issues including
inflation,
abortion,
taxes
and
education.
In
her
opening
remarks,
Whitmer stressed the importance
of
bipartisan
collaboration
and highlighted her legislative
achievements in public education,
supporting the auto industry and
protecting reproductive rights.
“Tonight, I think you’ll hear
a lot of divisive rhetoric and
misinformation and focus on the
past from my opponent,” Whitmer
said. “I’ll try to stay focused on
our shared future. I know that we
have (a) real opportunity in front
of us, but the big question is this:
Are we going to go backwards or
are we going to drive together in
the future? I say ‘Let’s step on the
accelerator.’”
After the debate, Dixon criticized
Whitmer’s emphasis on her record
of bipartisan collaboration and
claimed Whitmer has not met
with every member of the state
legislature. Dixon told The Daily
that, if elected governor, she would
increase communication with the
state legislature.
“It’s interesting that she talks
about that because there are
actually legislators that she’s never
met,” Dixon said. “I would sit down
with our legislators and meet with
them regularly.”
In her opening remarks, Dixon
also criticized Whitmer’s approach
to
combating
the
COVID-19
pandemic
and
said
she
feels
Whitmer has let Michiganders
down
on
public
safety,
infrastructure and education.
“In 14 days, you can change
course,” Dixon said. “You can put
Michigan back on the right track.
I’ve traveled the state and from
day one, I’ve been focused on my
family-friendly plan for Michigan.
Tonight, I’ll share that plan, and I
hope to earn your vote on Nov. 8.”
In spring 2022, Ann Arbor resident
Susie Lorand was approached by a
petition circulator at the Ann Arbor
Farmers Market. The circulator
asked her to support a ballot initiative
they allegedly claimed would reduce
barriers to voting.
“The circulator said something
to the effect of, (the petition) was
going to make it easier to get an ID
or driver’s license,” Lorand said in an
interview with The Michigan Daily.
Lorand said while she normally
reads petitions before signing them,
she forgot to do so at first. She ran
back to the petitioner after signing to
read the ballot initiative’s description
and realized she had signed a petition
for Secure MI Vote, a GOP-backed
ballot initiative aiming to increase
restrictions on voting access. She
crossed her name off the list.
“I signed it because I liked the
(petitioner’s) description, … then I
read it and then I thought, ‘oh, no, that
was stupid,’” Lorand said. “Because
the description did not accurately
represent the petition that was being
circulated … it was really deceptive
overall.”
An investigation by The Daily
revealed
numerous
allegations
against petition circulators for two
Republican-backed ballot initiatives
of providing false or misleading
information to voters in spring
2022. This investigation is based on
interviews with seven residents of the
Ann Arbor area, as well as a review of
recent news coverage and numerous
posts on local social media forums.
The Daily’s investigation found
instances of circulators for the Secure
MI Vote and Let MI Kids Learn
initiatives allegedly engaging in
these misleading practices. Let MI
Kids Learn, a Betsy Devos-backed
ballot initiative, aims to establish a
tax credit program to fund donations
for student opportunity scholarship
programs, which provide funding to
students for educational expenses like
books and extracurricular programs.
Critics of this initiative have argued
that it would divert taxpayer dollars
from public school funds.
Supported
by
Michigan
Republicans, these ballot initiatives
have sparked controversy over their
signature-gathering practices.
Fred Wszolek, spokesperson for
Let MI Kids Learn, commented on
these allegations in an email to The
Daily, saying that National Petition
Management (NPM), the company
the campaign hired to gather
signatures, trained their circulators
to provide specific information about
the initiative.
“(National Petition Management)
train
their
circulators
and
contractually
require
their
circulators to learn and stick to a set
of talking points that are provided
by the campaign,” Wszolek wrote.
“We’re confident that our team of
petition circulators fairly represented
the proposal … (ballot initiatives are)
composed of thousands of words,
so any interaction on a street corner
with a petition circulator is going to
involve ‘limited information.’”
Wszolek also included a list of
approved talking points for the
initiative’s petitioners in his email to
The Daily. The Daily’s investigation
found
allegations
that
petition
circulators provided information not
included in these talking points.
Secure MI Vote and NPM did
not respond to multiple requests for
comment.
In the state of Michigan, there is
currently no legal penalty against
circulators who mislead or lie to
voters
while
gathering
petition
signatures. Individuals who sign
petitions under false pretenses also
have no way of invalidating their
signature if they later realize their
mistake.
Political campaigns often work
with signature gathering companies
such as NPM and Advanced Micro
Targeting
(AMT)
to
outsource
petition
circulation,
and
these
companies often pay circulators on a
per-signature basis.
According to campaign finance
records, Let MI Kids Learn paid over
$5.7 million to NPM for signature
gathering services between April
and July 2022. Secure MI Vote paid
nearly $500,000 for consulting
and signature gathering services to
Advanced Micro Targeting between
January and July 2022.
Both Secure MI Vote and Let MI
Kids Learn missed the signature
submission deadline to be included
on the November ballot.
Bridge Michigan reported that
the Secretary of State Office would
treat Secure MI Vote as a measure
intended for the 2024 ballot and
review the signatures at a later date.
Past
controversies
engender
suspicion
Since April 2022, numerous Ann
Arbor area residents have shared
accounts of petition circulators
allegedly engaging in misleading
signature gathering practices on
online forums such as Reddit and
Nextdoor. These posts are not the
first time attention has been drawn
to such issues surrounding Michigan
ballot initiatives.
In September 2020, the Detroit
Free Press reported that Unlock
Michigan, a group petitioning to
strip Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of her
emergency powers, advised trainees
to lie to voters to obtain signatures.
An unknown representative from
an opposing organization, Keep
Michigan Safe, recorded a video of an
Unlock Michigan circulator training
session and shared it with the Free
Press. In the video, the Unlock
Michigan trainer Erik Tisinger
appears to instruct circulators to
provide incorrect or misleading
information to voters.
“This can be a real shady job,”
Tisinger said in the video. “And when
I say shady, I mean, people do all
sorts of illegal shit all the time and
never get caught. It’s really hard to
get caught doing shit except for, like,
forgeries.”
Tisinger
proceeded
to
tell
circulators to leave their petitions
with store clerks to collect signatures
from
customers,
even
though
circulators must act as witnesses for
all signatures. Tisinger also suggested
that they provide misleading or
incomplete testimony in the event
they are deposed about whether they
witnessed a signature.
Bridge Michigan reported that
in January, Voters Not Politicians, a
voting rights advocacy group, shared
video footage in which a circulator for
Secure MI Vote appears to attempt to
deceive voters in order to obtain their
signatures. According to Bridge, the
circulator claimed the Secure MI
Vote petition would require voters to
present two forms of identification
at the polls, while the proposed
legislation’s actual ID requirements
are more stringent. The Secure MI
Vote initiative would require voters
to provide a state ID and remove the
option to sign an affidavit affirming
their identity if they did not have the
correct identification.
Jamie Roe, a spokesperson from
Secure MI Vote, told Bridge he
believed Voters Not Politicians was
unfairly criticizing the circulators.
Roe told Bridge he did not watch
the video in question, but said it was
possible the circulator was employed
by Secure MI Vote.
Wednesday, November 2, 2022 — 3
News
Daily investigation finds allegations circulators misrepresented
Republican-backed initiatives
FOCAL POINT
Whitmer, Dixon meet for second gubernatorial debate at Oakland University
Community members describe misleading pitches, growing mistrust in signature gathering
Candidates make final pitches to voters, highlighting stances on abortion and public education
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
GOVERNMENT
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
IRENA LI &
SAMANTHA RICH
Daily Staff Reporters
On Monday afternoon, the Genesee
County Jail hosted a hybrid forum
in Flint, Mich. for six candidates
campaigning for the Michigan Supreme
Court, Appeals Court and the 7th Circuit
Court of Genesee County. The event
was hosted by Genesee County Sheriff
Christopher Swanson, Genesee County
Ambassadors,
Nation
Outside
and
Voting Access for All Coalition (VAAC).
The VAAC is an organization aiming
to help Michigan residents learn about
their right to vote. This forum was also
part of the Genesee County Jail’s Inmate
Growth Naturally and Intentionally
through Education (IGNITE) program
that is designed to provide high school
level education and post-incarceration
work opportunities for incarcerated
individuals. Before officially starting
the forum, Swanson talked about
the importance of the forum to the
upcoming elections and to IGNITE’s
voter education section.
“We want people to understand who
they’re voting for, who they want to
represent them,” Swanson said. “We’re
here to educate people, and those of
you watching online I encourage you to
educate yourself to watch the candidates
and how they respond to the questions
because these are the people that are
going to represent you.”
The forum began with introductions
for the candidates for the Michigan
Supreme Court present at the forum.
The Supreme Court is the highest court
in the state and consists of seven judges.
The first speakers were Justice Richard
Bernstein and attorney Kyra Harris
Bolden. Bernstein is seeking reelection
inw the Nov. 8 election. He emphasized
how an individual’s background and
experiences
with
challenges
are
important to take into account when
reviewing a case.
“It’s ultimately through our life
experiences that we come to understand
struggling, to understand hardship,”
Bernstein said. “Ultimately, it is only
those judges who truly understand
what it means to face, understand and
appreciate what it means to struggle
(and) that have an empathy … to those
who come before them.”
Bolden echoed Bernstein, reminding
voters that the decisions of the Michigan
Supreme
Court
will
set
judicial
precedents in the state for years to come.
She encouraged voters to choose people
they trust to make judgements that will
impact voters both today and in the
future.
“The Michigan Supreme Court
doesn’t just affect people in this room
today, it will affect generations to come,”
Bolden said.
The forum then moved on to speak
with several candidates for the Michigan
Court of Appeals, the state’s intermediate
appellate court which hears cases
between trial courts before they arrive
at the Michigan Supreme Court. The
Court of Appeals is divided into four
regional districts and voters will have
the opportunity to elect new members
this November. Sima Patel, who was
appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
in February, an incumbent candidate
for the Second District Court of Appeals,
was present at the event and is the first
woman of Indian descent to be a judge
for the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Patel said having diverse perspectives
on the bench is integral for the court be
representative of its constituents.
“I am the first Indian woman to ever
sit on the Michigan Court of Appeals, I
am one of a couple of judges who have
ever had a civil rights experience,” Patel
said. “I believe that no matter who you
are, what your walk of life is, you deserve
to have access to justice.”
Ann Arbor Mayor:
Incumbent
Mayor
Christopher Taylor will face off
against Independent opponent
Eric Lipson. Taylor has served
as Ann Arbor’s mayor since
2014 and is seeking his second
reelection bill following Ann
Arbor City Council’s decision to
extend the mayoral term to four
years in 2018.
In addition to his duties as
mayor, Taylor is a local corporate
and
commercial
attorney
practicing at Ann Arbor-based
law firm Hooper Hathaway.
Taylor’s tenure as Mayor has
centered
around
pedestrian-
friendly infrastructure, high-
density
housing
and
Ann
Arbor’s A2Zero goal. If elected,
Taylor’s third term will focus
on enhancing quality of life and
basic services such as public
safety,
road
conditions
and
equitable living.
Lipson
announced
his
campaign in September after
the primary elections in which
Taylor
won
the
Democratic
against
former
Ward
1
Councilmember Anne Bannister.
While Lipson has never served
as an elected public official, he
has previously advocated for
environmental causes at the
state and local levels.
Lipson is an attorney and
has worked at several non-
profit organizations. Lipson’s
background in environmental
justice
and
sustainability
is
echoed in his platform’s goals
to promote A2Zero and address
other Ann Arbor environmental
concerns.
Lipson’s
platform
also
focuses on advancing affordable
housing
and
living
for
all
income levels and advocates for
continued support of current
environmental
initiatives.
In
addition to Lipson’s goal to
improve city services, he has
proposed
nonpartisan
city
elections, a proposal Mayor
Taylor has previously vetoed
twice on City Council.
Ann Arbor City Council
All
of
the
city
council
members will run unopposed
with the exception of Ward 5
where Jenn Cornell will face
Jonathan Hoard.
Ward 1: Cynthia Harrison, a
lifelong resident of Ann Arbor
and program manager at the Ann
Arbor Center for Independent
Living, is running uncontested
for a spot alongside current
Councilmember
Lisa
Disch,
D-Ward 1, following the election.
Harrison’s platform focuses
heavily
on
mental
health-
driven criminal legal reform,
accessible transportation and
the development of affordable
housing. If elected, Harrison will
be the first Black woman to serve
on city council in over 15 years.
During the August primaries,
Harrison
defeated
Angeline
Smith with 71% of the vote.
Ward 2: Chris Watson, born
and raised in Ann Arbor, is
running uncontested following
outgoing Councilmember Kathy
Griswold’s, D-Ward 2, decision
to step down after Watson’s
campaign
announcement.
Following the election, he will
serve
beside
Councilmember
Linh Song, D-Ward 2.
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
Here’s what’s on the Ann Arbor ballot for the
2022 Midterm Election
Get caught up on the latest local races, from mayor to millages
JI HOON CHOI
Daily Staff Reporter
SHANNON STOCKING
Daily News Editor
ANN ARBOR
GOVERNMENT
Genesee County Jail hosts forum for six
contenders in judicial races
Sheriff’s office brings attorneys to promote voter education, share policy platforms
Design by Evelyne Lee
Read more at MichiganDaily.com
ANNA FIFELSKI &
SAMANTHA RICH
Daily News Editor & Daily Staff
Reporter
JULIANNE YOON/Daily
JULIANNE YOON/Daily
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks with the
media after the second Gubernatorial
Debate at Oakland University Tuesday
evening.
Republican nominee Tudor Dixon
responds to questions after the second
Gubernatorial Debate at Oakland
University Tuesday evening.