Although there are already laws barring non-citizens from voting in Michigan elections, a group is pushing a ballot initiative to have voters show proof of citizenship. This week on MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow unpack the issue with supporter Paul Jacob of Americans for Citizen Voting and opponent Melinda Billingsley of Voters Not Politicians.

In this episode:

• Why do supporters think we need a ballot initiative that ensures only citizens vote in Michigan elections?
• Why are opponents concerned about potential barriers to voting that the ballot measure may cause for citizens?

This measure would require citizens to present photo identification to be able to vote. There is no evidence that votes by non-citizens have affected the results of an election. Jacob agrees and says that this ballot initiative is to enforce the law that bars non-citizens from voting.  

“Our position is that it’s important that voters get to decide, should non-citizens be voting in our elections or not? I think voters are going to decide not,” he said. “We’re looking to have every U.S. citizen in Michigan who wants to vote be able to vote, but we’re also looking for non-citizens not to be put on the rolls and not to vote.” 

There is concern that the proposed ballot may bar some citizens from voting who don’t have proper identification on hand. Billingsley says the laws that are already in place are adequate to ensure security in our voting system.  

“We had the policies that had been set in place by the Secretary of State’s office, by the Department of Elections to be constantly checking and reviewing our elections to make sure that our elections are secure,” she said. “We don’t see a problem with it, because the problem doesn’t exist. There is a problem with the proposals being put forward by these petitions, because they would actually make voting harder for everyone.” 

Advocates of the proposal are currently gathering signatures for the ballot measure. They need 446,198 signatures to get this measure on the ballot.

The group Dearborn Wants Wards has been pushing for districted elections in Dearborn. The measure is now officially on the ballot as Proposal 1 in the general election in November. 

Mona Mawari is a community organizer for the Dearborn Wants Wards.  She says the group had to go to court after submitting more than 8,000 signatures for the petition.  

“To ensure that the the proposal was going to be on the ballot in November, we had followed up with the city multiple times and weren’t getting a clear answer and a clear response.”

Mawari says Dearborn Wants Wards volunteers are campaigning door-to-door and organizing town halls and phone banks to spread the word about the measure. The group says districted elections would provide better representation for the city’s east and south sides.    

Additional headlines from Monday, August 22, 2025

 Neighborhood Business Lab 

ProsperUs Detroit and the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services or ACCESS are hosting a Neighborhood Business Lab in October. The team will provide business insights to area residents.

The neighborhood lab takes place in two time slots: on October 1st from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. OR 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the ACCESS Hamtramck office, 9301 Joseph Campau Avenue in Hamtramck.

Light refreshments will be provided. 

Dearborn’s Esper Library to be Children’s Exploration and STEAM center 

Dearborn is creating a state-of-the-art children’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics or STEAM Center. It will be located at the city’s Esper Library at 12929 Warren Avenue.

The library will offer robotics, music, art, and engineering activities. It will also include hands-on STEAM discovery zones, technology and a podcast studio. 

Construction began this past weekend. 

Detroit Fire Dept. Appoints Jamal Mickles as chief 

Detroit Executive Fire Commissioner Chuck Simms, has appointed Captain Jamal Mickles as the Chief of the Detroit Fire Department Training Division.

Mickles has 20 years of experience. He began his work with the department through the DFD’s Fire Cadet Program. He was assigned to Engine 51, later serving at Engine 57, Ladder 14, Ladder 26 and the Fire Investigation Division, before becoming a fire instructor and training leader.

Mickles served as a Lieutenant at the academy, overseeing the firefight apprenticeship program which gives Detroiters a pathway to a career in public safety. He also rebuilt the Regional Training Center gym which was used to train more than 200 firefighters across Michigan. Last year as captain, Mickles launched the DFD Paramedic Training Program to train firefighters to deliver advanced pre-hospital medical care. 

He is replacing Chief Alfie Green, who retired after 34 years with the Detroit Fire Department. 

If there is something happening in your neighborhood that you think we should know about, drop us a line at DetroitEveningReport@wdet.org. 

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Michigan’s schools have struggled post-pandemic, with students lagging behind in reading and math skills compared to other states.

A coalition of progressive education organizations is seeking to allocate more funding for education in Michigan through the “Invest in MI Kids” ballot initiative. 

The proposal would add a 4-5% tax on single filers who earn over $500,000, or joint filers who earn over $1 million. The group says that would generate about $1.7 billion for Michigan’s School Aid Fund.

Charlie Cavell, Oakland County Commissioner for District 19 and a coordinator for the “Fund MI Future” campaign, joined The Metro on Thursday to share more about this ambitious proposal in its beginning stages.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

More stories from The Metro

Michigan-based nonprofit Rank MI Vote is campaigning for signatures to get ranked choice voting on the November 2026 ballot.

This week on MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben talk with Rank MI Vote Executive Director Pat Zabawa to learn more about this new voting style and why he says it would be better for Michigan.

In this episode:

• What is ranked choice voting?
• Is ranked choice voting a better system?
• What other ballot proposals are groups trying to get on the 2026 ballot?

Ranked choice voting has steadily increased in popularity across the country for the past decade — most notably in the Democratic mayoral primary race in New York City.

This alternative voting method allows voters to rank their choice of candidates on the ballot in order of preference.

Rank MI Vote’s effort to get ranked choice voting on the ballot recently passed the state board of canvassers. Pat Zabawa, the organization’s executive director, says this method would be helpful in making our voting system more efficient. 

“Michigan increasingly is being represented by candidates who haven’t won more than 50% of voters’ support,” Zabawa said. “That’s true in general elections, and that’s true in primaries. We see that the 2016 U.S. presidential race and Michigan 2024 U.S. presidential race, ranked choice voting addresses the issue that voters see and make sure that voters are represented.”  

Still, Kasben says opponents will likely call the proposal confusing, and “fight back against the idea that it wouldn’t cause a delay in getting results,” she said. “Some also say it goes against the ‘one person one vote’ rule.” 

Supporters of the Rank MI Vote initiative will need to collect more than 440,000 signatures that are needed to get the initiative on the ballot in 2026. 

More from WDET:

• The Metro: The case for ranked choice voting in Michigan
• Detroit Evening Report: Trump order aims to dismantle US Department of Education; March Madness + more
• The promises and drawbacks of ranked choice voting 

Volunteers with the Michigan-based nonprofit Rank MI Vote have been working hard to get ranked choice voting on the general election ballot in November 2026.

Their effort just passed the state board of canvassers on Friday. Now they need to get hundreds of thousands of signatures over the next 180 days to get the initiative on the ballot. If passed, voters would be able to rank political candidates by their preference.

Pat Zabawa, executive director of Rank MI Vote, joined The Metro on Wednesday to make the case for ranked choice voting and why he says it would more accurately reflect the will of Michigan voters.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

More stories from The Metro