Michigan Absentee Ballots will be in the mail next week if you are registered and have requested one. Remember that all Michigan voters are now able to vote by mail, but you need to be pro-active about it. Don’t delay, make sure that your vote counts, and BE A CLIMATE VOTER! Here’s a how-to guide prepared by Hope for Creation to help people who are committed to being responsible climate and environmental voters navigate through the election process this fall.
There is a lot riding on the results of November’s elections, including the action our country will take to address the climate crisis. Hope for Creation is an interfaith coalition of individuals and congregations in Kalamazoo and Southwest Michigan whose spiritual traditions include a moral imperative to consider the environmental impacts of our actions on the world and future generations. You can learn more about us at http://hopeforcreation.net.
We are an affiliate of the Kalamazoo Climate Crisis Coalition (https://www.kalamazoocrisis.org) and together we offer these resources to help people center the climate crisis when making voting choices.
- Plan your voting well before the election.
- Are you registered? If not, how do you register? What is the status of your absentee ballot? What candidates and proposals are on the ballot in your precinct?
- the Michigan Secretary of State has an easy to use, one-stop-shopping site that will help you do all of the above. Go to: https://Michigan.gov/Vote
- Vote early by mail to ensure your vote is counted, or go to your usual precinct polling place on election day,
- Tuesday, November 3.
- You can also submit your mail-in ballot directly at your city or township clerk’s office, or find out where drop boxes are located in your jurisdiction.
- Pledge to make climate a major decider in your vote.
- Take the Interfaith Power and Light Michigan Climate Justice Voter pledge: https://www.miipl.org/climate_justice_voter_pledge
- Pledge to be an environmental voter at the Environmental Voter Project https://www.environmentalvoter.org
- Take the Vote Earth Pulpit Pledge at Earth Day ‘Vote Earth’ program https://www.earthday.org/actions/ask-your-faith-leader-to-sign-the-climate-action-pledge/
- Educate yourself about each candidates’ views on climate and other issues.
- The League of Women Voters publishes a convenient online guide http://vote411.org
- The Michigan League of Conservation Voters records Michigan lawmakers voting history https://michiganlcv.org
Read “Democracy Values & the 2020 Election: A Reflection Guide for Faith Communities” from Interfaith Power and Light https://interfaithpowerandlight.salsalabs.org/voterguidedownload/index.html
