Promote the Vote 2022 Petition signing available at Petition Drive Saturday, May 7, at Portage Lake District Library

HOUGHTON -- Promote the Vote 2022 (PTV 2022) is a non-partisan coalition seeking to enshrine our voting rights into Michigan’s Constitution. This action is necessary to protect voting rights from ongoing political and partisan threats. PTV 2022 volunteers are gathering 425,059 signatures from Michigan voters in order to put PTV 2022 on the November 2022 ballot. These signatures are needed by June 30, 2022.

The Petitions are here and signatures are needed now! Promote the Vote 2022 is one of four petitions that will be available for signing at a Petition Drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. on Saturday, May 7, at the Portage Lake District Library in Houghton. Stop by for your opportunity to support Promote the Vote 2022 and/or these other petitions: Reproductive Freedom, Raise the Minimum Wage, and Allow Prisoners to Earn Time Off.

If you can't make it to the Petition Drive Saturday, how can you sign the Promote the Vote 2022 petition? Email one of the following circulators and they will make sure a circulator contacts you to get your signature. They will come to you! That includes book clubs, exercise groups, family reunions, house parties, etc. This includes events inside or outside. Also, did you know that churches are allowed to advocate nonpartisan petitions such as Promote the Vote? Ask your minister or priest if a PTV speaker can come to speak to your congregation or church meeting! Contact any of the following to arrange a petition signing:
    Keweenaw County and northern Houghton County: Elizabeth Benji:  erbhedgehog@yahoo.com
    Greater Houghton area: Valorie Troesch: vtroesch@gmail.com
    Baraga County and southern Houghton County: Liz Hakola: ehakola@up.net 
   Gogebic, Ontonagon and Iron counties: Corinne Duerkop: corinne.duerkop@gmail.com

Any circulator can take signatures from any place in Michigan. If you would like to be a circulator, let one of the above local circulators know. They need all hands on deck for this critical and urgent project and have only a few weeks to collect the necessary signatures.

According to Valorie Troesch of the local circulator team, "It's non-partisan, but we welcome opportunities to explain what Promote the Vote is about and to give people the opportunity to sign the petition. If the proposal passes in November the rights are enshrined in the Michigan Constitution and they're beyond the reach of partisan politics."

Promote The Vote 2022 will amend Michigan’s Constitution to permanently establish and secure the following voting rights for Michiganders:

• 9 days of early in-person voting
• Easy access to apply for absentee ballots with one permanent application (which allows the voter to receive an absentee ballot automatically for every election)
  
• Creates tracking system for absentee ballots and right to cure defects
• Easy return of absentee ballots with guaranteed drop boxes and pre-paid postage
• Vote without harassment, interference or intimidation
• Clerks get guaranteed access to donations and in-kind donations with public disclosure of charitable donors
• Right to prove identity for voting with a legal document verifying identity
• Count military/overseas ballots if postmarked by Election Day
• Election audits are made more secure and accountable
• Prevents politics from interfering into certification of elections.

For more information about Promote the Vote 2022 go to https://promotethevote2022.com/.

Click here for the full text of the PTV 2022 Petition.