michigan turning fully blue (house & senate flipped for the first time in 40 years) is not a fluke of 2022's engagement only, is not because only of abortion being on the ballot (although it was one of issues that contributed to turnout), or anything else. it is because organizers in the state have been working consistently on the issue for over half a decade.
in 2017, average everyday people got together and formed Voters Not Politicians with the goal of taking away making the state district maps away from politicians and putting it in an independent commission. Michigan is one of 3 states that has petition-driven ballots, and they were able to get enough petitions to put it on the ballot for 2018. this is after forming connections with other left-wing groups and organizations, including SEIU, teachers unions, ACLU's newly created People Power. etc. who helped contribute financially and get the word out.
VNP was at literally every corner, every store, every college campus, doing both petition signing and voter registration. they were literally up our ass every day for months. VNP was made of up average people. we were not lobbyists, we were not politicians, we were just people. the majority of them were grown adults, people in their 30s and 40s and 50s. i was the youngest person for years in my section of it in my corner of southeast michigan. i was a full-time college student and could only contribute maybe, maybe an hour of my week to it. and because of my age, i was able to show them what younger generations thought and how we worked, to connect them to college campuses and students who wanted to get involved, and so it grew yet again. and with the advertising campaign they were able to pull as well the ballot was able to pass with 61% support.
then, the GOP tried to shut it down. it went through so many courts. there was genuine fear, especially in the wake of multiple states gerrymandering efforts being shut down by their states supreme court if not the national SC, that it would happen in michigan too. but it didn't. we were lucky, and we were organized, and we had lawyers backing us up from the partnerships and relationships we had built in the years prior. we knew it was going to happen, and so we weren't caught off guard. we were ready. throughout the entire multi-year litigation it went through.
we created new maps. and then, 2022 comes. we have a shot at turning the state blue. Roe v Wade happens, but before that, organizers are doing massive voter registration as well again. people are talking to family members, to friends. political education is going on throughout the entire state, hell, the entire nation. it is a group effort. people are becoming aware of what's at stake.
and then this week happens and the results come out. it was a combination of organizer's work, of direct involvement with communities, of seeing what the GOP desires and how much they are able to destroy, of the chance of gen z outvoting boomers, that pushed everyone to work overtime to get us across the finish line. it is a combination of chance of current events combining to the perfect storm, luck for the circumstances and Michigan's unique situation (like all states having unique situations), but also heavy heavy heavy and consistent consistent consistent daily weekly and monthly work.
THAT is why michigan is blue. because we believed. because we hoped. because we got together and put in the work. because we pushed and we knew that there was a big possibility we wouldn't succeed, but we tried.
you have to try too. you have to contribute too. it is never too late to get involved. no matter what the stakes are, or how successful it is, you never know what the outcome will be 100%.
