Thread by @NancyWangVotes

As Exec. Dir. of Voters @NotPoliticians - the group that ran an all volunteer petition signature drive in 2018 to end gerrymandering, we know a thing or two about signature gathering. Today’s Unlock MIchigan petition drop-off is troubling in a number of ways.

A thread …. 1/

@NotPoliticians Video and tape recordings show Unlock Michigan willing to lie and cheat to get a MI law passed without your approval. Signers told the proposal would go on the ballot, but it’s understood that #mileg will take it up & likely pass it without the public’s or governor’s approval. 2/

@NotPoliticians Video also shows a signer being told that she can sign for her husband who was not there, which is illegal. 3/

@NotPoliticians In about 1/2 the states including MI, citizens have the power to change laws through direct democracy. The whole point of the initiative process is to enable THE PEOPLE to place proposed statutes and constitutional amendments on the ballot. 4/

@NotPoliticians Unlock Michigan’s tactics turn the idea of direct democracy on its head. MI requires >340K registered voters to sign a petition for a statutory ballot initiative to qualify for the ballot. What becomes of our laws if a small group can cheat and lie to reach the threshold? 5/

@NotPoliticians It’s possible to collect hundreds of thousands of valid signatures while following both the letter and intent of the law – we did it in 2017. 6/ bit.ly/3jp9ouJ

@NotPoliticians 3,822 volunteer circulators were required to pass a VNP quiz showing they understood our proposal and MI’s signature collection rules. 7/

@NotPoliticians Every one of our volunteers knew that each signature must be witnessed by the circulator and that voters must sign for themselves. It wouldn’t have even occurred to them to mislead signers about the intent of our proposal. Why lie if you believe in your cause? 8/

@NotPoliticians Lying to signers about what a petition is for and accepting invalid signatures in order to pass a law without the governor’s approval or the people’s vote is profoundly undemocratic. 9/

@NotPoliticians The first line of Michigan’s constitution is “All political power is inherent in the people.” We the people retain the power to initiate ballot measures as a means of protecting and strengthening our democracy. We must not allow this system to be gamed. 10/10