By Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II
Michigan Chronicle
https://michiganchronicle.com/
There is a word for what MAGA extremists are trying to do to our elections right now: suppression. Not reform. Not security. Suppression.
In courtrooms, state legislatures, and the halls of Congress, they are systematically working to silence millions of Americans. And Black voters, whose turnout has time and again proven decisive in Michigan and across this country, are their target.
The evidence is everywhere. The Callais case, now before the United States Supreme Court, threatens to gut the Voting Rights Act and strip away one of the most powerful protections Black Americans have to ensure their voices are heard at the ballot box.
The so-called SAVE Act would impose sweeping new requirements that would make it dramatically harder for eligible citizens—and disproportionately for people of color—to register and cast their ballot. And here in Michigan, MAGA lawmakers are pushing onerous voter ID laws not to protect elections, but to protect their power—by making it harder for communities to cast their ballots at all.
This is not a coincidence. It is a coordinated strategy with a long history in American politics.
And Michigan is ground zero for this fight. They tried fake electors here. They spread lies about voter fraud — lies that were loudest in Detroit and in Flint. Now, as Trump openly talks about ‘nationalizing’ elections, they are building the architecture to try to overturn the will of the people again.
And it’s no wonder why they are coming after our votes here in Michigan. In each of the last three presidential elections, Michigan has been decisive — and razor close. MAGA knows that suppressing Black turnout in Detroit, in Saginaw, in Kalamazoo could be the difference between democracy and something else entirely. Fair representation, the outcome of future presidential elections, and the fate of our democracy are all on the line.
I am running for Secretary of State because Michigan needs someone who will stand tall against every attempt to disenfranchise a single voter — whether it’s a grandmother in Grand Rapids, a young voter in Benton Harbor, or a first-time voter on a college campus. The right to vote is sacred, and I will defend it like it is.
I know what’s at stake because I have spent my career fighting for Michigan families. As Lieutenant Governor alongside Governor Whitmer, we expanded free pre-K, protected reproductive freedom, brought good-paying jobs back home, and reformed our justice system. That progress only happened because people voted—and had their votes counted. Lose our democracy, and we lose our ability to fight for everything families care about: housing costs, healthcare, utility bills. The ballot is the foundation of every battle for progress.
I also know how to make government work. As Detroit’s Director of Innovation, I built the Improve Detroit app so residents could raise their voices and get real results. I will bring that same problem-solving energy to modernize our elections infrastructure, protect Michiganders’ sensitive data, and bring transparency to systems—including campaign finance reporting—that have gone too long without it.
And I know how to win statewide. I have traveled to all 83 counties in Michigan, listened to communities from the Upper Peninsula to the Indiana border, and I am the only candidate who has already been on a winning team statewide—twice—alongside Governor Whitmer.
Supported by the Michigan AFL-CIO, SEIU, United Auto Workers, the Michigan Education Association, Michigan AFT, the Northern Midwest Regional Council of Carpenters, United Steelworkers-District 1, the People’s Coalition and dozens of state and local leaders across our state, I am ready to be the firewall Michigan needs.
The next Secretary of State will either stand between MAGA and the ballot box — or step aside and hand them our democracy. I have spent my life standing tall for Michigan. The assault on our votes is here, and I’masking you to stand tall with me to protect our democracy and our right to vote.
