Voting in Michigan’s Primary

Michigan’s Presidential Primary is Tuesday, February 28. What is different this year? First of all, it’s a closed primary and Michigan rarely holds closed primaries. A closed primary means only Democrats can vote for Democrats and only Republicans can vote for Republicans. Voters will get different ballots based on your party affiliation.

An open primary would offer one ballot with both parties choices on it and it’s up to the voter to vote in only one party’s election. Those who attempt to vote in both parties’ elections would not have their ballot count at all.

Secondly, the political party you choose will become a matter of public record. It does not register you as a member of that party, however.

Last year, the Republican-dominated state legislature passed a law to make public the voters’ party affiliations in the Presidential Primary. One can assume this is to deter Democrats from voting in the Republican primary. Democrats will have only one name on their ballot, and a vote on Feb. 28 will be largely symbolic because Michigan’s Democratic Party decided to hold their presidential caucus on May 5. That’s when they will officially select Barack Obama as their candidate.

What’s on the February 28 ballot? For Democrats, only the name of Barack Obama. For Republicans, the names of 11 Republican candidates. The list of Republicans was finalized in December and will not reflect the fact that some candidates may have dropped out of the race. The names in alphabetical order are: Michelle Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman, Gary Johnson, Fred Karger, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Buddy Roemer, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum.

Voter ID requirements have not changed in the last 2 years. Voters must show picture identification. Preferred are your Michigan driver’s license or personal ID card. If a voter doesn’t have either, a current picture ID from another state, federal or state government-issued photo ID, a U.S. passport, military ID with photo, student ID with photo from a high school or an accredited institution of higher education, or a tribal ID card with photo may substitute.

If a voter does not have picture ID, they may vote after signing an affidavit.

Youth Registration - Fordson

The team working on the youth registration project has visited Fordson and met with the principal, Mr. Yousseff Mosallam. Principal Mosallam offered a warm welcome and support for our project.

While some specifics await the next semester's schedule (begins Jan 31), we expect to hold registration events in mid-February. The school has enrollment of 2,500 students. There are ten sections of government classes so we will have to cover several hours. Student groups will also be encouraged to participate, such as F-COPS: Fordson - Club of Political Science.

If you would like to be involved in this important outreach, please send an email to lwvddh@gmail.com or call our local president, Mary Bugeia, 313-278-6476.

Forum Showtimes (updated)

Candidate Forums and Millage Proposals were taped in Dearborn Hts and Dearborn.

note: This article will be updated as additional viewing times are scheduled.

Bookmark this link if you want to check times as we will be updating the viewing schedule as needed. http://lwvddh.blogspot.com/2011/10/forum-video-showtimes.html

Dearborn Hts Forums

> City Council Forum - 1 & 7 am/pm Daily

> Headlee Override Forum - 2:30 & 8:30 am/pm Daily

> D7 School Board Forum - 12:30 am/pm on Saturdays & Sundays

> The City Clerk Forum - 6 & 12 am/pm Daily

Dearborn Forums

Millage and Civil Service Commission Proposals, Dearborn School Board

>>Dearborn Ballot Proposals online forum video. Click to watch.

>>Dearborn School Board Forum is available online. Click to watch!

Times listed below are for CDTV WOW channel 10, Comcast channel 12

Millage and Civil Service Ballot Proposals

Mon. 6 & 10 am, 2, 6, 10 pm

Tue. 7 & 11 am, 3 & 11 pm

Wed. 6 & 10 am, 6 & 10 pm

Thu. 7 & 11 am, 3 & 11 pm

Fri. 6 am, 2, 6, 10 pm

Sat. 8 am, 12 & 4 pm

Sun. 8 am, 12 pm

Dearborn School Board Forum

Mon. 11 am, 3 pm

Tue. 12 & 4 pm

Wed. 11 am, 7 pm

Thu. 8 am, 4 pm

Fri. 6 am, 2, 6, 10 pm

Sat. 9 am, 9 pm

Sun. 8 am, 12 pm

Comcast Customers Only - Additional viewing times on Public Service Channel 18
October 15 and 16 at 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm

Nov 5 and 6 at 8am, 12:30pm, 5pm NEW TIMES

Privatization Study - Nov 17th

If you are interested in forming an educated opinion about this issue, you will find that it is not a simple topic. The shades of gray become apparent when ones studies the history of government and business collaborations. From the company town to corrupted townships, there are extreme cases on either side.

The Seattle LWV has done extensive research in preparation for a national study. Their published report is a great place to start. The last pages of this lengthy publication includes a list of references.

http://www.seattlelwv.org/sites/default/files/privatization2009.pdf

You are invited to add links and suggested reading to this post or on our facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/lwvddh.org. You can also email comments, links and references to lwvddh@gmail.com.

Additional links will be added here, so please check back.

November 17th, Thurs @ 7pm.

Christ Episcopal Church, 120 N. Military at Cherry Hill.

Dearborn Heights Candidate Forum Sept. 28

On Wednesday, September 28, candidates for the Dearborn Heights City Clerk, City Council, and the District 7 School Board will participate in a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Dearborn – Dearborn Heights.

The evening will begin with an explanation of the one ballot proposal on the November 8 General Election in Dearborn Heights, the Headlee Override Millage Proposal. Speaking will be Eric Lupher, Director of Local Affairs for the Citizens Research Council of Michigan, who will give a broad overview of what the Headlee Amendment is and what an override means, and Daniel Paletko, Mayor of Dearborn Heights. This portion will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

At 7 p.m. the candidates for City Clerk, Janet S. Badalow and Walter J.Prusiewicz, will participate in a 30-minute forum. There will be an opportunity for written questions from the audience, asked by the moderator, Jenni Dunn, a member of the League.

The City Council candidate forum will be held immediately following, at approximately 7:30 p.m. There are 5 people running for 3 openings. It is scheduled to last 1-hour and there will be an opportunity for written questions from the audience, asked by the moderator.

At approximately 8:30 p.m. the candidates for the District 7 School Board will participate in a forum scheduled to last for one hour. There are 4 candidates running for 2 positions on the school board.

The forum will be held in the City Council Chambers at the Dearborn Heights City Hall, 6045 Fenton. The public is invited to attend.

In addition to the moderator, Jenni Dunn, the president of the League of Women Voters, Mary Bugeia will welcome the speakers, candidates, and members of the audience. The evening will be videotaped by WDHT for rebroadcast on local access government cable television channels on WOW, Comcast and AT&T.

Betsy Cushman chairs the Voters Service Committee. Members include Chris Sullivan, Dennis Kirchoff, Joe Borrajo, Judy Carty, Judy Patrick, Mary Bugeia, Carolyn Buell, Barb Adams, Jenni Dunn and Kathy Gapa.

Bullets and Ballots - Remember Sept 11th

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was home with 3 children as we watched the videos from New York and worried about what’s next. The screen presents fiction more often than facts, so it took awhile to understand the reality of this attack. Meanwhile many had to leave the TV and take care of the day’s work. On that day, election workers were handling Dearborn’s Mayoral Primary. Sometime later I was in the voting booth when my husband called with alarm. He had heard a radio report about rioting in Dearborn and worried about our safety.

The fear from that day has echoed through the years with a patriotic fervor and a decade of war, but I wonder why the pledges of patriotism haven’t produced civic engagement. Voter turnout is embarrassingly low for a nation so proud of its legacy. At great risk others demand a voice in dictatorial nations, while we dismiss our own democratic process.

Proponents of 2nd amendment rights tout the value of a well-armed citizenry to protect against tyranny, but I’d like to call on a well-informed citizenry to practice democracy. Sergeant Molly carried the water and loaded the cannon because she had no other recourse for liberty. Now she has the right to vote so that her first line of defense is the ballot box. Hold the line with this basic right and restore voter turnout as a patriotic duty.

LWV began 90 years ago to arm new voters with information about candidates and issues. Our heritage continues with a busy Voter Service Committee, a League hallmark in our own community for 60 years. Candidates and voters are urged to participate fully in the campaign process and on election day. One vote can sometimes make a difference, but when the majority of potential voters sit it out, do you wonder that a motivated minority gets more of a say? From one election to the next, we have basically told candidates to “call someone who cares”, so they do. What will our city and nation be like 10 years from today if we amped up our fervor for making democracy work at home? Let’s find out.

By Jenni Dunn