Let’s give a warm welcome to the folks from VAAC – Voting Access for All!
A short introduction from their Act Blue page:
Michigan citizens with a criminal record have a right to vote! VAAC is dedicated to ensuring that all Michiganders understand their rights – even with a felony record, on probation, parole or tether, or awaiting arraignment or trial, even while in Jail – you have the power to vote. Your past doesn’t prevent you from impacting our future.
Your donations help us to:
– educate people who have been misinformed about their right to vote
– motivate those who do not believe their vote matters
– help people overcome the barriers that may prevent them from voting
Watch this video with real VAAC volunteers describing their mission.
As many as 300,000 Michiganders who have a criminal record are eligible to vote, but far too many of them believe they’ve lost the right to vote. VACC is working to empower this woefully disenfranchised community, and their goal for registration and voting in November is a whopping 100,000.
Think for a second about what the margin of victory was in Michigan in 2020.
VAAC is sending formerly incarcerated individuals back into their communities to clarify the law, and they are sending representatives to several urban County jails to register eligible voters who are awaiting arraignment or trial.
They are sending volunteers to “expungement fairs,” where volunteer lawyers help citizens who have fulfilled their obligation to society get their records cleaned up.
Not just that – VAAC volunteers and employees with a criminal record are building their resumes through their efforts, and finding purpose and inspiration.
Consistent with our goal of strategic funding, we are looking to fund “boots-on-the ground” positions. Once we know exactly what the external match amount will be, we will share more details about exactly which positions we will fund.
The enthusiasm of the founders and the volunteers is infectious. Don’t miss the Zoom call next Wednesday, 5/18 at 7:30 pm, where some of the coalition leaders and members (even a couple of the volunteers featured in the video) will join us.
Thanks to the execrable War on Drugs and a criminal justice system with a racist history, the community targeted for outreach is large and persuadable.
With the sheer number of new voters VAAC aims to bring into the system, with the voter protection amendment promoted by Promote the Vote 2022, and with our funding of Four Directions in Michigan, we believe it’s possible to put the Michigan brick firmly back in the Blue Wall.
Enough from us! Ask them anything, watch the video, and check out their website.
Oh, and come meet them in person at the zoom next Wednesday, May 18 at 7:30!
Voting Access for All Coalition
WaterGirl
Carrie, Ginny and Angela, welcome!
Carrie @ VAAC
Hi Nancy and Balloon Juice community! We’re so excited to visit with you tonight!
Ginny from VAAC
Hello Balloon Juice Community. So happy to meet you tonight.
Almost Retired
Hi VAAC peeps! Love the video. Very effective way to communicate your message! Curious about sending representatives to County Jails. How do you get the officials to cooperate? Once the VAAC rep is there, what do they do?
DetroitAngel
@WaterGirl: Hello! Thanks for having us!!
WaterGirl
@Carrie @ VAAC: @Ginny from VAAC: @DetroitAngel:
So glad to have you all here!
DetroitAngel, I love the name you chose. :-)
Ginny from VAAC
@Almost Retired: Thanks so much. Yes, we need to build relationships with the jail administrators in order to get an agreement about how we can go in there. It is different in every jail. Some of our folks have been deputized by the county clerk. In some cases, the jail supports with their own staff, and we provide materials. And in some jails we are struggling to get in.
Carrie @ VAAC
@Almost Retired: Good questions. And i’ll follow up to Ginny’s response: We are also working on legislation to require officials to make policies and procedures for voting more transparent. Check out our jail report VAAC created with our coalition partners, Nation Outside: https://votingaccessforall.org/jail-report
In Michigan and across the country, people who are incarcerated in pretrial detention retain their right to vote. However, it may be practically impossible for jailed voters to exercise this right. Through our report, we hope to reduce jail-based disenfranchisement by offering advocates, lawmakers, sheriffs, clerks, and other local officials the information and tools they need to address this issue in each county jail.
DetroitAngel
@WaterGirl: Thanks so much! Detroit is a city very close to my heart… not only because this is where I’m from, but because there is so much love, passion, and innovation!! They call Los Angeles the city of angels… I think that actually describes the city of Detroit !!
banditqueen
Hello to all–Thanks to WaterGirl, and the VAAC crew here this evening–Do you work with registered repubs to try to ‘bring them over’ to vote for Dems? And your prison reaching out sounds awesome!
Betty
It’s great to know this is the case in Michigan. I hope it stays that way. You are providing a truly valuable service.
Ginny from VAAC
@banditqueen: We are a non-partisan 501C3. We are definitely progressive, but we do not promote candidates or parties.
dc
Sounds like a great organization.
WaterGirl
@banditqueen: I will be interested in the answer to this, too.
My guess is that since this is not a political group, they don’t talk politics and don’t suggest how people should vote.
That’s how it is with Four Directions, also. But in the case of Four Directions, the Native voters are pretty clear-eyed about who is on their side and who isn’t, so they tend to vote 95-97% democratic.
Guessing the same might be true of the formerly incarcerated and folks who are awaiting trial because they can’t make bail (don’t get me started on that or I might spontaneously combust).
But I’ll let the VAAC peeps tell me if I’m wrong about that.
edit: I see that the question was answered while I was typing my longer comment!
Ginny from VAAC
@Betty: Thank you. We have hopes to do even more in Michigan. One of our long term goals is to have voting in Prison. Today, Maine, Vermont and Washington DC extend voting rights to citizens currently incarcerated. We want Michigan to do that as well some day.
Carrie @ VAAC
@banditqueen: Our consistent experience is that people are more open to starting a conversation about using their voice than about persuading them on a candidate. As we engage further with people in discussions around the actual issues and where candidates stand on issues, they always lean in the direction of PROGRESS (aka, progressive)!!!
banditqueen
Thanks–It’s crucial to make sure that everyone who can vote actually will vote–this usually favors dems! Are you going to visit colleges as well? Oh yes, and making it easy to vote as it should be.
Betty
@Ginny from VAAC: I believe Pennsylvania allows those prisoners in on misdemeanors to vote. It was an issue in the recent redistricting fight over where they would be allowed to vote, where they were incarcerated or at their former home address.
Carrie @ VAAC
@WaterGirl: Yes, WaterGirl, you’re spot on… People know (or ask someone who does so they can get informed about a judge for example) and vote according to who “gets” what matters to them: bail reform, ending prison gerrymandering, new prosecutorial policies, voting in prison, ending “truth in sentencing” policies, restoring #GoodTime policies in Michigan prisons, ending abuses by guards, improving rehab programs in jails and prisons, ending the school to prison pipeline, and more!!!
Ginny from VAAC
@WaterGirl: We do talk about issues. There are several petitions going around in Michigan right now, that will hopefully get on the ballot this year. They should energize our base. Several of our coalition partners are leading the charge. One is called Good Time, for people in prison to get credit toward their release for what they are doing while in prison. Another is a $15 minimum wage bill. Another is Promote the Vote, to protect voting rights in Michigan. and Another is Reproductive Freedom, since we will fall back to a 1934 law on abortion if Roe is overturned.
CarolPW
@Ginny from VAAC: Good! Denial of voting rights while incarcerated makes no sense unless you were convicted of voter fraud (not registration issues, but actual multiple votes). Thank you guys for doing this.
WaterGirl
I know you guys just turned two last week – as an organization – and I’m a little curious about how VAAC got started. So if there’s not a more pressing question, at some point, maybe you can tell us a bit about that.
Ginny from VAAC
@Betty: Interesting. I will look into that.
During our redistricting, we spoke frequently about prison gerrymandering. So, even though people in prison in Michigan can’t vote, they are counted in the location where they are incarcerated when determining redistricting. In Michigan, most of our prisons are in rural white areas. However, many of our people in prison come from our urban areas. This shifts power out of Detroit and Grand Rapids, to rural areas. We spoke many times to our redistricting commission on this, but did not get it addressed unfortuntately.
SiubhanDuinne
Great video! It’s awful — but not a bit surprising — that there’s so much misinformation about voter eligibility, especially for Michigan’s* formerly imprisoned people.
*(Not just Michigan, of course. AFAICT, there’s very little consistency from one state or other jurisdiction to another.)
Almost Retired
@Ginny from VAAC: Wow, you all are coming at this issue from every possible angle! Curious about the grass-roots, boots on the ground component of your efforts. Are you sending volunteers/employees out into the community? How do you find and target unregistered voters with a record, since they’re not required to have their past tatooed on their foreheads, at least not yet?
Carrie @ VAAC
@Betty: There is a distinction that might be worth making: Prisons are state or federal facilities. Unfortunately, only Vermont, Maine, and District of Columbia allow people to vote IN prison.
However, jails are county facilities. And in Michigan and across the country, people who are incarcerated in Jail and are awaiting trial, not convicted, retain their right to vote. We work actively to make that a reality because it is virtually impossible to do so the way policies currently stand. We do so through partnership with Vote by Mail in Jail and VAAC member, Amani Sawari, leading the charge. We also do so by direct VAAC “voting ambassadors” we call them going into several county jails who are supportive of our efforts. We also collaborate with ACLU and other community volunteers to join.
WaterGirl
It looks like donations are already coming in, so I should mention that VAAC at our request has already found matching funds for us up to $20,000, and they are still working on more match money, so hopefully that will make it up to the $25k we are going for here.
And in my dreams the other possible matches come through and we are double-matched. :-)
But for now we are matched at $20,000 AND we already have a Balloon Juice Angel, so donations up to $50 turn into $200 for VAAC.
$50 donation + $50 angel match = $100, then matched by the external match = $200.
same principle for any amount less than $50, just multiply times 4!
Ginny from VAAC
@banditqueen: We have gone to some college campuses, but our focus is more on urban community settings where we will come across people misinformed about their right to vote due to justice system impact. Bus stations, grocery stores, barber shops, food banks, shelters, and community events.
DetroitAngel
@dc: thanks for saying. The aim of our coalition of all-volunteer justice-impacted and voting rights activiststs is to make voting accessible to everyone, but especially those who have been or are currently incarcerated.
There is so much misinformation about voting with a criminal record. We are grateful for your support!! It’s the support of folks in the community that helps us to educate and empower those impacted by the justice system on how to advocate for their rights through the power of voting.
WaterGirl
@Ginny from VAAC:
I’m sure that’s a total coincidence! (not)
Carrie @ VAAC
@Almost Retired: Thanks for your question!! We LOVE our boots on the ground. We go out together, as often as possible in pairs, formerly incarcerated and allies who have not been directly impacted in that way, but care passionately. We do not have any employees!! We are all volunteers, though we have gotten grants to give what we called “honorariums” in the past to our experts – who KNOW and are able to speak from direct experience. (We are now moving toward calling them stipends.
Here is just one example of how community outreach by returning neighbors has a different impact than those not directly impacted: one afternoon Danny, E.B. (both in the video), and I were out doing some outreach on the eastside of Detroit outside of a small, local grocery store, trying to spark up conversations and distribute VAAC flyers. We met four individuals in 40 minutes who said they could not vote because they “had a record.” When EB or Danny said to them, “Yes, you can vote! I have felonies. We’re getting out the word that you can vote with a felony record,” people responded. When I said it, they were polite, but not so open and engaged and willing to stay in the conversation as when it came from others who had walked their walk. We helped them register and make a voting plan (applying for an absentee ballot or helping them find their polling place and transportation plan to get there). We talked with them about resources to find out more about the candidates and gave them extra flyers to encourage their friends and family to vote — so that they help choose sheriffs, prosecutors, judges, and choose the representatives who make decisions about budgets for police, schools, affordable housing, mental health and substance abuse treatment, etc.
Ginny from VAAC
@SiubhanDuinne: I think that adds to the confusion. Every state is different, and the horror stories from other states where people go back to prison for voting, or can’t vote until they have paid fines and fees, may create confusion for people in other states where they do have that right.
Caphilldcne
Do you also work with people post-conviction or to restore their voting rights? I’m from Michigan and I’m so grateful for people who work on the ground level to do this work!
WaterGirl
@Carrie @ VAAC: Showing my ignorance here… if I were incarcerated waiting for a trial, would I only be in jail or might I be in prison? Or is prison (state / federal) only for AFTER a conviction?
Betty
@Ginny from VAAC: The same urban-rural problem exists in Pennsylvania. I am not sure how it was decided.
Caphilldcne
BTW I’ve spent much of my career trying to decriminalize drugs and to move drug policy from criminalization to a public health perspective (promoting syringe exchange and finding means to help people stay alive). Is there movement in Michigan towards public health on drug policy. What is your analysis of the impact of the drug war on voting?
Almost Retired
@Carrie @ VAAC: So that I’m clear, the canvassers are volunteers, but you do have some paid positions, correct? And what do the paid folks do?
Caphilldcne
Donated!! Please keep up the excellent work!
Ginny from VAAC
@WaterGirl: What you have said is how it usually happens, but not always. People may be in a jail, while serving their sentence. And I think (but am not positive), that there are people in prison, who have not been convicted yet.
So, when working in the jail, we have to be clear it is people who are awaiting trial and sentencing.
We also will be sending communications into prisons, but mainly to request their help in getting the word out to friends and family about voting. We did this in 2020, and it was very effective.
banditqueen
So impressed that your focus is on the currently incarcerated and those who have done their time. The US has such a high incarceration rate (with crimes ranging from ‘loitering’, petty drug busts, etc, to murder–but not a lot of ‘white collar’), and those people deserve and need to have their voices heard. It’s an area I care about but am not deeply knowledgeable about. Just way too many people to disenfranchise.
cain
One thing that frightens me is that those they go after for abortion or even a miscarriage will not be eligible to vote in future elections.
Do we expect the same kind of treatment as they did for war on drugs ?
It seems that how the war on drugs was conducted might inform us on now the war on women will be also conducted
Ginny from VAAC
@Almost Retired: We are a volunteer organization, primarily. However, the best people to reach out to and talk to those who have been in prison, are other people who share that experience. We pay them for their outreach work. We do not have positions, but rather pay stipends or honorariums for the work. As we grow, we do hope to be able to staff positions for community organizers.
japa21
What you folks are doing it wonderful. Getting a person registered is not the same as getting a person to vote. Some folks may be hesi9tant to show up at a polling place having heard lots of stories about people being harassed or arrested for illegally voting (even when it wasn’t). So, in effect, you actually have to convince people to do two things.
I am sure there are people in MI, as elsewhere, who try to scare people out of voting if they have a record. How do you combat that and get people to make the next step after registering and vote?
Carrie @ VAAC
@WaterGirl: You all ARE ALL ANGELS, Balloon Juice community! YOU have sparked hope and inspiration to all of our VAAC community to keep reaching out for more and more donations. People are SO responsive when we share our stories. It is contagious.
And people feel good about donating to us as an org with ZERO administrator costs. Our admin team (combination of directly impacted and allies) is entirely volunteer. And our printing of fliers and posters is almost entirely donated pro bono. ALL of our money goes straight to supporting direct compensation to directly impacted individuals to spend MORE time with boots on the ground. (This is a much more meaningful way to earn extra money to get by than getting other kinds of “second jobs.”) We are a family and it is wonderful to be able to financially support those who have been impacted by so many layers of injustices. They are not doing it for the money originally, though. Our directly impacted leaders and members have been doing SO MUCH LABOR WITH LOVE building our org without payment for two years. (I will add that some donors are also interested in contributing separately to help with other forms of communication to reach our targeted community, e.g., paying to “boost” our video on social media and paying for billboards and advertisements on buses and transit centers, etc.)
Ginny from VAAC
@japa21: You are right. Michigan passed a no-excuse absentee voting law in 2018, so we do try to encourage people to get an early voting ballot and mail it in or drop off at their clerk. We plan to educate people this year on the reasons mail in ballots had been rejected in the past. We also have an increased focus on “why voting matters”. It isn’t enough to register, the votes must be cast.
Carrie @ VAAC
@Ginny from VAAC: We make specific voting plans with people and get people’s phone and text #’s so we can follow up to be sure they are following through, too, or think through support they might need – e.g., a transportation plan. For example, in 2020 we worked with settings like a few different transitional homes – talking with clients at their setting and then joining a staff member to take groups in the organization’s vans to take them to clerks offices so they could register and vote on the same day. That was very meaningful. We continue to build those relationships with orgs so staff can support the follow through.
Ginny from VAAC
@banditqueen: totally agree. I think the US is 4% of the worlds population and we have over 20% of the worlds incarcerated population. That doesn’t sound like the land of the free to me. We are clearly imprisoning people in the US who would not be imprisoned elsewhere.
Ginny from VAAC
@cain: This hadn’t occurred to me yet, but I think you are right.
AJ
VAAC I saw your video last week and was very inspired!!
Ty for doing what you do. I
‘m about to givejust gave $50.Very happy to be partnering up with you all and welcome to Balloon Juice!
japa21
@Carrie @ VAAC:
Thank you. Looks like you folks are well prepared to go all the way with these folks, even holding their hands if needed. Congratulations.
Mo Salad
Another hit of matching crack. $50. Also, (puts CPA hat on) As a 501(c)(3) organization, contributions are deductible, even for those who do not itemize. For 2022 this deduction is $300 Single, $600 for Married Filing Joint.
WaterGirl
@AJ: That’s $200!
WaterGirl
@Mo Salad: Thanks for mentioning that! I planned to mention that these are tax-deductible donations in the first Angel matching donation post, so if you don’t see it in that post, please remind me. :-)
WaterGirl
@Mo Salad: And $200 for you!
Carrie @ VAAC
@cain: D–N, hat frightens me, too, now that you say it!! I hadn’t quite thought of it that way. It is truly disturbing to see people’s outrageous capacities to disenfranchise people – and legislate it!!!!
WaterGirl
Carrie, Ginny and DetroitAngel, thank you so much for joining us tonight!
Carrie @ VAAC
@Mo Salad: Matching crack, yes!! I love it! Y’all inspire!!!!!
Carrie @ VAAC
@WaterGirl: Thank YOU for having us! It is totally exciting to be in conversation with all of you!! And to feel your enthusiasm and support for our efforts. Thank you for taking such an interest and supporting us!!
DetroitAngel
@Caphilldcne: Your words ring so true… The war on drugs = an expensive failure. We need policy change and to elect folks who stand against mass incarceration and the failed war-on-drugs policies that harm people who use drugs recreationally, people who struggle with addiction, people stereotyped as drug users, and communities in general.
The United States imprisons more people than any other country and has the highest incarceration rate in the world. The war on drugs fuels mass incarceration— this is why legislation like Michigan’s Clean Slate Act and Cannibus Conviction Expungement is so important. The legalization of cannabis in MI for recreational usage is a huge step forward toward ending the war on drugs and redressing some of the terrible damage that’s been done— particularly within black and brown communities.
@Caphilldcne:
@Caphilldcne:
Ginny from VAAC
@WaterGirl: Thanks So Much everyone for your great questions and your support of our work. We will be able to increase our outreach so much due to your help. I will be signing off now, and will check back tomorrow morning to answer any other questions posted. Thank you all!!!!!
Carrie @ VAAC
@WaterGirl: We also look forward to talking with you all again next Wednesday on Zoom at 7:30, too, with more VAAC teammates!! DetroitAngel and I are able to stay on a few more minutes now though if people have any more questions tonight.
WaterGirl
@Carrie @ VAAC: I am really looking forward to the zoom next week! Do you have a second to let us know who will be joining us? Am I right in thinking it will include at least a couple of people from the video?
Mo Salad
@Carrie @ VAAC:
You have no idea. I’ve dropped maybe $500 here the last few months, $50 a hit.
WaterGirl
@Mo Salad: I really appreciate it, as do all the groups you are donating to!
Carrie @ VAAC
It is SO amazing and fun seeing your thermometer bar on the side grow more and more BLUE as we have been talking tonight!! THANK YOU thank you thank you, all of you!!
Carrie @ VAAC
@WaterGirl: Yes, it is possible/likely that all four from our video: Danny, E.B., Rob, and Darryl will join. We are also hoping Earl, Kim, and/or Kathi can join. I hope that’s not too many people? We want to share in the excitement!
WaterGirl
@Carrie @ VAAC: @Ginny from VAAC: @DetroitAngel:
You guys have been very generous with your time tonight! Thanks so much to all three of you!
See you next Wednesday at 7:30 Eastern!
WaterGirl
@Carrie @ VAAC: Yay!
Have a great evening.
Carrie @ VAAC
@WaterGirl: Thank you so much! We will look forward to seeing you next Wednesday! Have a great night, everyone!
Carrie @ VAAC
@Mo Salad: Tooo cool. That’s a fun way to drop $500… good kinda crack!
WaterGirl
@Carrie @ VAAC: Not too many people!
Carrie @ VAAC
@AJ: Thank you, AJ!! So glad you loved the video and really, really appreciate your support. Good night and see you next Wednesday!
Carrie @ VAAC
@WaterGirl: DetroitAngel just said the same thing. We’ll stick with our team on the video then. ( – :
cain
Best of luck to all of you !
WaterGirl
@Carrie @ VAAC: Oh, wait! My “Not too many people” was shorthand for “no, that’s NOT too many people.”
If you thought I was saying that the 4 from the video plus 3 more was too many, that’s not what I was trying to say.
The 4 from the video will be great, beyond that I will totally leave it up to you.
DetroitAngel
@WaterGirl: and thank you for having us! This has been such a great experience! There are so many folks out here that are confused about the voting rights of returning citizens and ppl with felonies. While some states permanently revoke voting rights of people who have served time, especially for violent felonies. In other states, you can only regain your right to vote after serving time for a felony if the governor or a judge restores it.
But that’s not true in Michigan. You have the ability to vote once you are done serving your time following incarceration.
Help us spread the word and share this message — follow us on social media by visiting:
https://facebook.com/VotingAccessForAll/
https://twitter.com/accessvoting
https://instagram.com/votingaccessforall
Wolvesvalley
Late to the conversation, but here’s my first $50. Your mission is fantastic, and your video is superb! Looking forward to seeing you all in the zoom.
JeanneT
Peeking in to report $25 donated. Love what I’ve learned here about VAAC’s work.
Joy in FL
I put $50 in about 9 pm eastern.
I love what VAAC is doing and the lively, straightforward way they communicate.
I look forward to the Zoom next week : )
Sandia Blanca
I’m in for $50 (almost 10 p.m. CT). Thanks!
buggrit
In for $50. 9:18 West Coast time.
Ginny from VAAC
Logging on this morning to see the blue bar has grown even more. Thanks to everyone for your contributions.