If you want to see change, one thing you can do is vote.
Voter turnout in the August 2021 mayoral primary for Detroit was less than 15%. Less than 20% of the city’s registered voters turned out for the general municipal election the same year.
Elections are your chance to decide who to hire for the job of public servant. We’re putting together a helpful voting guide unlike most others to help you through. Instead of telling people who to vote for and why, we’re here to help you find the resources to decide for yourself.
How do you choose where to stand on issues affecting you? How do you best select candidates that will support your causes? Which candidates have the ability to actually create change? Our guide will help you take it step by step, in an easy to understand way — written for Detroiters, by your fellow Detroiters, the Detroit Documenters. We are in debt to Sonja Stuckey for proposing this project and getting it off the ground.
What’s in here and how to use it
The purpose of this voter guide is to equip you to make well-informed decisions before you cast your valuable vote. It will help you understand:
- The importance of a primary election
- Your own values and priorities
- Pitfalls to avoid
- The power of a public official
- How to research a candidate
- How to cast your ballot
By the end, you should have a better understanding of how to vote to support your interests and tips for how to stay involved after the election to make sure officials are working for you.
You can also check our Election Glossary if you’re unfamiliar with any of the terms in the guide.
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How to register to vote, see your ballot, vote at the polls or cast your ballot early -
How primaries work and why it’s extra important to vote in them -
Use this quiz and candidate scorecard to decide what issues to prioritize when you vote. -
Before you cast your vote, learn more about elected officials’ roles and responsibilities. -
How to find information about candidates and issues on your ballot -
When a candidate has held public office before, you can learn a lot about how much that candidate has achieved and how they interact with other officials. -
Understanding how this influence works and how to navigate it can make you a more confident voter -
Make a plan to vote! If you’re voting on Election Day, get your transportation in order, find your polling place by looking it up here and learn more about what you will find at the polls.
Credits
Concept, research and outline: Sonja Stuckey, Detroit Documenters
Published by: Outlier Media in collaboration with Detroit Documenters
Written by: Detroit Documenters Damien Benson, Dan Ignacio, Byron Keys, Meg Krausch, Kayleigh Lickliter, Gina McPherson, David Palmer and Paul Warner
Additional writing by: Kate Abbey-Lambertz, Lynelle Herndon, Noah Kincade and Malak Silmi at Outlier Media
Edited by: Sarah Hulett and Lindsey Smith at Michigan Radio, Sarah Alvarez, Erin Perry and Kate Abbey-Lambertz at Outlier Media
Detroit Documenters Media Partners are: WDET, Detroit Free Press, Planet Detroit, BridgeDetroit, Detroit Metro Times and Chalkbeat Detroit
