Our Purpose
Stand Up for Our Democracy
As clergy of west Michigan, we support the National Faith in Us letter.
Many among us believe that God ordained freedom and dignity for all persons. This is written into the founding documents of the United States of America. The greatness of America is our commitment to freedom, dignity, equality and justice for all.
The Constitution of the United States of America provides that states shall regulate elections. But in our moment in history, the federal government is engaging in overreach. Alarmists falsely insist that our current electoral system is inadequate.
We are grateful that Michigan’s elected officials are fighting to continue our elections as provided for by the Constitution of the United States of America. We reject the federal overreach into our voting rolls. We reject the proposed ballot initiative that would amend our constitution to limit voting rights. We commit ourselves to pray and work for Michigan’s democracy.
The national strategy to limit access to the ballot will not take hold in Michigan. As faith leaders here, we answer to a higher authority. We are compelled to speak and act to preserve democracy in our time.
We commit to praying for our election officials this year, that they may be safe, that they may be wise, and that they may exercise their duty in peace.
We commit to our neighbors of every faith and none that we are with you in the work to keep America free and equal, with liberty and justice for all.
Clergy and faith leaders who support this initiative are invited to sign on to the Faith in Us letter and stand up for democracy on Tuesday, July 7, at our press conference to be held at Fountain Street Church. We gather at 10am.
Michigan Ballot Initiative
We are also raising awareness of the current ballot initiative pending in Michigan that is designed to disenfranchise people and to make it more difficult to vote in Michigan. If you live in Michigan, this is about your voting rights in our state.
There is NO CRISIS of non citizens voting in Michigan. Our current Michigan voting system already very effectively catches the extremely small percentage of non citizens who attempt to vote. This ballot initiative would permanently change the Michigan Constitution and make it more difficult for CITIZENS to obtain the correct paperwork to to prove their citizenship at the polling stations in order to prove that they have the right to vote.If this ballot initiative passes, your drivers license or state id would NO LONGER be enough proof to be able to vote on election days.
This ballot initiative, along with other efforts such as an Executive Order by Donald Trump and legislation that was passed by the Michigan House are a blatant attack on democracy and the right of we the people to choose our leaders and laws at the ballot box.
The Ballot Initiative Designed to Disenfranchise Michigan Voters. Over nine million dollars has been spent by special interest groups who want Michigan voters to be required to prove their citizenship at the ballot box EVERY TIME before voting in Michigan.
Our vision is for Michigan Voters to be able to continue exercise their right to vote in free fair elections in Michigan. VOTE NO on this Ballot Initiative in November.
The Letter
SIGN THE LETTER Pastors, imams, rabbis, and religious leaders from across the country are adding their names to a national sign-on letter calling for moral courage, democratic participation, and the protection of our communities.Add your voice alongside faith leaders committed to justice, human dignity, and nonviolent action.
As faith leaders, we stand for justice and fairness. We believe in protecting the dignity and rights of all people. We work to bring people together across every divide and we know that our democracy is strong when everyone is treated with dignity and when all voices are heard.
As we approach the 2026 November elections, our freedom to vote and elect the leaders we choose is under threat. As clergy across faith, race and geography, we are joining together to protect our voting rights and the voting rights of our neighbors.
We are speaking out against decisions that limit the access eligible voters have to the ballot box and efforts that appear aimed at preventing eligible voters from voting. We are deeply concerned about the executive order severely restricting vote-by-mail, and we are outraged by the rapid gerrymandering of racially discriminatory election maps in many states following the Supreme Court’s decision to end the Voting Rights Act commitment to racial equality in elections.
Vote-by-mail is particularly important for elders in our communities, for those with mobility concerns, for those in rural areas, and for those whose job status or life circumstances makes it difficult to vote in person on election day. In some states, all eligible voters are sent a mail ballot. This executive order threatens to take the vote away from countless eligible voters in our communities, causing confusion and chaos and the denial of fundamental constitutional rights. Vote-by-mail has been proven to be accurate, reliable, and efficient across the country, and it helps ensure that eligible voters are able to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
Our faith traditions affirm the dignity, worth, and agency of all people. Patterns of action that prevent eligible voters from voting and that dilute voter’s power to choose their elected leaders violate our faith traditions’ affirmation of human dignity. Complicated registration rules, fewer voting options, threats to deploy ICE to polling places, barriers based on financial ability, requests that states turn over voter rolls despite privacy and security concerns, and discriminatory gerrymandering of maps all offend our core faith values as well as core democracy values. These efforts limit access to the ballot box and intimidate eligible voters, especially eligible voters of color and poverty. This makes us less free and gives us less power as voters to choose our leaders.
We call on our Secretaries of State, election administrators and all elected officials in our states to join us in publicly opposing these efforts. We call on elected officials to join us in protecting our elections, our democracy, and the ability of all eligible voters to be able to access the ballot box and vote.
We are coming together to protect our voting rights and the voting rights of our neighbors. We will continue to oppose attacks on the freedom to vote. We call on our elected leaders to do the same.
Signed,
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