Civic and Political
Participation
Voting: What? Why? How?
Voting is a right that US citizens gain once they turn 18. It allows them to have a say in which candidates gets elected into which positions, what laws or policies get approved, and more on not only a federal level but also state and local levels.
Why do we vote?
Voting in local elections gives you a chance to make your voice heard on important local issues, such as policing, housing, development, parks and environment, and the future of our community. Within local elections, you have the ability to vote for the election of the city council members. The eight elected officials each serve a 4-year term. You also have the ability to vote for the election of the mayor. The elected official will also serve a 4-year term.
The current Mayor of Lansing is Andy Schor, elected in 2018, and the position will be up for re-election in 2025. The current eight members of the Lansing City Council are Adam Hussain, Peter Spadafore, Brian T. Jackson, Ryan Kost, Jeffrey Brown, Tamera Carter, Jeremy A. Garza, and Trini Pehlivanoglu.
It is highly important that each resident take advantage of their right to vote as the offices may have a large impact on your community in ways such as how much you pay in taxes and what these tax dollars will go towards.
How to prepare to vote:
In order to cast a ballot in an election you must first register to be a voter; there are a few different ways to do this. You can register by mailing in an application or online at The Michigan Department of State’s website if there are more than 15 days until the election. If there are less than 15 days, you must register in person at the city clerk’s office. You can even register to vote in person at the clerk’s office on election day. The previous link provides information and the necessary forms for voter registration. Once you locate the application, you will simply fill in some personal information and submit the form. Then you will receive your voter registration card.
The hub for all information about voting in Lansing is https://lansingvotes.gov/
How to pre-register:
With a new law recently passed in Michigan, you can now pre-register to vote once you turn 16 years old. From ages 16 to 17 and a half if you apply for a driver’s license or state identification card through the Michigan Secretary of State you will be automatically pre-registered to vote when you turn 18, unless you choose to opt out. If you have already applied for a driver’s license or state identification card, by July of 2024 the Secretary of State’s office will contact you if you are eligible for pre-registration or registration but have not yet done so.
For more information on this you can visit the Michigan Department of State’s website.
Where do you vote?
Once you are registered and ready to vote, you have to locate your most convenient polling station for the upcoming election that you plan to partake in. Within the City of Lansing, according to their website, there are 40 different polling locations. Once you find your polling location (based on your address), if you are in need of transportation you can refer to the website of the Capital Area Transportation Authority (CATA) for information about bus routes.
If you are unable or prefer not to vote in person at a poling location, you can request an absentee ballot. There is no requirement for an excuse in order to vote this way, you can simply visit the City of Lansing’s voting website to retrieve the form up to 75 days before any election or you can be added to the permanent ballot list.
Ballot Initiatives- Direct Democracy
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The right of initiative is defined in the Michigan Constitution and allows citizens to propose or reject laws and amend the Constitution. The practice of initiative in the United States dates back to 1630, but most states that permit ballot initiatives (only 24 states) implemented this form of direct democracy during the Progressive Era, particularly between 1898 and 1918. Initiatives are the most direct way individuals can influence politics at the state and local levels, and they are different from most legislation passed by representative democracies. Typically, elected legislative bodies, such as Congress, state legislatures, or city councils, develop and pass laws. In contrast, ballot initiatives let citizens create laws and directly vote on them.
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First, residents formulate a proposal. Second, gather signatures from 5% of registered voters in the city. Third, review of the signatures by the city clerk. Fourth, the city council can adopt the initiative as a new ordinance or put it on the ballot for voters to decide.
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Citizen initiated: City of Lansing Civil Rights Ordinance
On November 5, 1996, Lansing voters had the opportunity to vote on two ballot proposals (Prop 1 and Prop 2). Both proposals were trying to protect civil rights by making unfair discrimination illegal. If the proposals failed, local civil rights protections would be eliminated, forcing Lansing residents to rely on state or federal laws that did not protect everyone (there were no laws at that level against discrimination based on ancestry, political orientation, sexual orientation, or source of income). The voters approved the proposals; however, the American Family Association successfully worked to propose a new initiative to repeal the newly passed law because of their opposition to the inclusion of sexual orientation as a protected category. It was not until 2006 that the Lansing City Council passed a human rights ordinance, meaning that Lansing residents were without protection from discrimination at the local level for almost ten years.
Tax proposals: Besides citizen-initiated ballot proposals, there are also tax proposals. In 1978, Michigan voters approved the Headlee Amendment. This amendment requires voter approval for any local tax increases that a law or charter—a document similar to a Constitution that grants specific rights, powers, privileges, or functions to a city—does not permit. Many tax proposals end up on various ballots due to this amendment. Unless the amendment gets repealed, you will most likely have the opportunity to vote on one of these proposals at some point in your lifetime.
2023: Residents in the Eaton RESA district voted on a special education tax to support students with disabilities. The cost to a taxpayer who owns a home worth $200,000 would be $7.50 per month. The residents approved.
2022: Residents of Lansing decided whether to approve a $175 million bond proposal that would be used to renovate outdated fire stations and build a new public safety facility. The residents approved.
Campaign Flier for Proposals 1 and 2 in 1996
Image from MSU Special Collections: https://findingaids.lib.msu.edu/repositories/4
How can you get involved in a cause?
Online and In-Person Activism- what are the pros and cons of each?
Online Activism Examples
Online Petitions
Online petitions offer a quick and free way to support various causes. You can sign someone else’s petition or start one of your own. Doing so can raise awareness about an issue or even influence the decisions of policy-makers and other people in power. Some resources for these online petitions include Change.org, ipetitions, and openPetition. There have been many successful online petitions that have contributed to changes in law and policy.
The day after George Floyd’s death, a 15-year-old named Kellen started a petition on Change.org that has gathered over 19 million signatures, making it the most signed in history. Her petition played a key role in getting Derek Chauvin convicted of murder and the other officers involved fired.
A Maryland high school student started a petition urging Congress to pass a law that made animal cruelty a federal felony. Nearly 800,000 people signed the petition and in 2019 both the Senate and House passed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act.
Promote protests on social media
Even if you do not have many followers, informing a few people about an upcoming protest can still create public awareness about an issue and may get some to attend. Besides protests, you can promote events that different organizations are putting together. For example, many have fundraising and educational or informative events. Many organizations have these dates on their social media accounts or websites.
In-person Activism Examples
Walkouts
Walk-outs are a common method of activism for students and can be used to protest a specific policy or raise awareness about an issue. While some walk-outs are planned and organized in advance, others are spontaneous. The examples below are both cases of organized walk-outs.
After hearing the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade, students at Lansing, Everett, and Eastern high schools organized a walk out in support of abortion rights.
Hundreds of students from across the Lansing region left their classrooms on March 14, 2018, to protest gun violence and honor the victims of the Parkland school shooting.
Protests or marches
Protests, demonstrations, and marches are an effective way of bringing attention to a particular issue and putting pressure on decision-makers to take action. Lansing is a magnet for these methods of activism because it is the capital. Although there will be protests that align with your views, there will be others that do not.
On October 12, 2023, pro-Palestine groups held an emergency protest at the Capitol building following a week of fighting in Gaza that left heavy casualties and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians homeless. This protest was to raise awareness of the ongoing mistreatment and dehumanization of Palestinian civilians.
In September 2023, a crowd of about 500 people gathered around the Capitol to express their disapproval of Lansing housing conditions and costs. They insisted on more protections against landlord abuse and empowerment of renters as a class.
On April 15, 2020 thousands of vehicles gathered in Lansing and clogged the streets surrounding the state capitol for a protest that had been advertised as “Operation Gridlock.” These individuals were protesting Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s extension of the stay-at-home order and additional restrictions on commerce.
Opportunities to Get Involved
Lansing Citizens Academy:
The citizens academy is a great resource and opportunity for the citizens to get involved and learn more about civic engagement in Lansing. The citizens academy is held at the beginning of August and the classes are held on Tuesdays for 3 hours from 5:30-8:30pm. During the citizens academy, those who attend will learn about how the City plays a role in the citizens lives everyday. The course provided in the citizens academy is a very in-depth schedule about the process of the city government and how the citizens can impact the city government. While enrolled in the citizens academy you will also get tours of city facilities like the city hall and other buildings. https://www.lansingmi.gov/904/Citizens-Academy
Lansing Boards and Commissions:
City of Lansing website https://www.lansingmi.gov/688/Apply-For
Follow the link above for directions that tell you where to go if you want to apply for an open position on a city board or commission. The process is wrote out within the website and there are links to show you where to go. There is also a video being made to walkthrough the steps to apply for the positions. When you are going through your application process there are a lot of boards available to choose from.
Lansing Parks & Rec:
The Lansing Parks and Recs website has a lot of information about how to get involved with the city outside. There is a “Things to do” tab that you can click on where it takes to you to a bunch of links that each give you specific information on how to get involved. There is also a calendar there to show you upcoming events and places to meet. https://www.lansingmi.gov/101/Things-to-Do
