PEG 12th Congressional District
Newsletter #119, Thursday, July 18, 2019
138 weeks down, 68 weeks to go until Election Day!
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
- Anneliese Marie Frank, 6/12/29–Winter, 1945
WAVE - A new volunteer group
We at PEG, like you, watch in horror as this government trashes the environment, destroys our social protections, pushes toward ever-greater economic inequality, inflicts great damage on the legal system, and very possibly destroys the economy at the same time. 
So what can we do about it? We can start by addressing our voter turnout problem. Even in the 2018 election, participation did not reach over 60%. So here’s our answer:

WAVE–We Always Vote Every time –is a group of volunteers who feel that encouraging voter participation is the most important thing we can do right now. 
We’ve created an online tool for encouraging people you know to vote by absentee ballot. 
Voters in Michigan can now vote absentee without the need to give a reason. 
Absentee Voters:
  •   Avoid lines at polling places and the time to get there
  •   Research and vote in the comfort of their own home. 
  •   Are less likely to be harassed by calls and canvassers once their ballots are received.
  • A personal letter or email to someone you know can give them the boost they need — and we’re making it very easy for you to send that email.  

The WAVE tool includes:
  • A searchable database of registered Michigan voters, where you can verify that people you know are registered – and see if they are likely to vote for the people and issues you support.
  • An automatic connection with your usual email service, so that the email body is filled in for you.
  • Email content with information about the absentee voting process. You can edit and personalize the emails as you like, or just send as is.
  • To learn more, email us at equalityingovinfo@gmail.com.

WAVE!!! Requesting an absentee ballot application is easy, and important. Best of all, every registered voter is eligible to vote by absentee ballot without providing a reason. Campaigns monitor the public records to determine who is an absentee voter and when they vote. Once you vote by absentee ballot they will stop contacting you.    

Click here to request an absentee ballot request form and learn more.
WAVE Training sessions for the pilot test of their application 
These sessions will teach interested parties how to use the WAVE tool to encourage people that they know to vote via absentee ballot. To help with the pilot test you must register here . All sessions will be held in Ann Arbor.
  • Thursday, July 18. 3–4:30 pm; 7:30–9 pm
  • Friday, July 19. 3–5 pm
  • Saturday, July 20. 2–4 pm
  • Sunday, July 21. 2–4 pm
  • Monday, July 22. 3–4:30 pm; 7:30–9 pm
  • Tuesday, July 23. 7:30–9 pm
  • Wednesday, July 24. 7:30–9 pm
  • Thursday, July 25. 3–4:30
Events
July 18-21. Ann Arbor Art Fair tabling
  • Planned Parenthood needs people to table from 10 am–8 pm in downtown Ann Arbor. You can sign up here for Art Fair
  • Reclaim our American Democracy from Big Money (ROAD) will have a booth on Liberty Street and needs folks to do four-hour shifts. Contact Conrad Zumhagen at zumhagenc@gmail.com for more information and to volunteer.
Monday, July 22 Eastern Washtenaw County Dems Meeting
WCDP Headquarters, 418 W Michigan Ave, Ypsilanti . 6:30–8:30 pm

Michigan Resistance Calling Parties
This week we will call to end human concentration camps .
Wednesday, July 24. Organizing your clerk engagement team
Join the ACLU of Michigan, League of Women Voters of Michigan, Voters Not Politicians, and Campus Vote Project for this online training . Sign up for the training. 7–8 pm

Wednesday, July 24. Voting Rights Online Training
Join the ACLU of Michigan, League of Women Voters of Michigan, Voters Not Politicians, and Campus Vote Project for an online training series to continue to be an empowered voter.
  • Wednesday, July 24, Organizing your clerk engagement team: Identifying team members, delegating roles, and staying engaged. 7–8 pm
Sign up for the trainings. Each webinar has an individual RSVP.
Thursday, July 25. How to apply for citizenship
If you are ready to apply for citizenship, or have questions about the application process, the Detroit New Americans Campaign has 5 great ways to get started, keep going, and get to the finish line! Click here to learn more. One of the ways is to attend these free Citizenship Clinics. International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit, 111 E Kirby St, Detroit. (313) 600-7618. 10 am–5 pm

Thursday, July 25. Taylor Democratic Club Monthly Meeting
Friday, July 26. League of Women Voters Ann Arbor Area July Lunch & Learn
League member Margaret Leary will talk about the 2020 Census, what will happen, what the League is doing to ensure a complete count, and how you can be involved. Sandwich and salad or vegetarian lunch with coffee and soda at $7 cash or BYO lunch. Reservations are required . Cedars of Dexter Clubhouse, 411 Cedars Lane, Dexter . Noon–2 pm
Saturday, July 27. Senator Jeff Irwin Coffee Hours
Meet and talk with Senator Irwin. 
Saturday, July 27. Yousef and You–Coffee Hour Forum
Anyone in the district can come to get an update on legislative issues, ask questions, and participate in open discussion. Community Room, RoosRoast Coffee, 1155 Rosewood St, Ann Arbor.
Saturday, July 27. Michigan United Detroit Leadership Trainings
The Power Meeting Training will serve as an introduction to having effective meetings with people in power. In this training we will provide our most disenfranchised members in the community with the skills to meet face to face with elected officials and candidates for office from all parties. To participate, you must arrive in time for sign in and remain for the duration of the entire training. Everyone is welcome regardless of immigration status. Register here . Michigan United Office, 4405 Wesson St, Detroit .10 am–2 pm
Things to do
Ombudperson needed to protect immigrant children held in Michigan
It has become clear that more transparency and accountability is needed throughout our immigration system. The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center , a nonprofit law office, is asking that we take a first step in doing this in Michigan by creating an "Immigrant Child Welfare Ombudsperson to monitor and address the special needs of immigrant children in state and federal custody in Michigan." Read more in an article by Michigan Radio .
Contact Governor Whitmer today and ask her to establish an ombudperson who can coordinate with state and federal agencies to not only track immigrant children who have been separated from their families, but to also provide accountability for their treatment and living conditions within the state of Michigan. Mail: P.O. Box 30013, Lansing, Michigan 48909. Phone: (517) 373-3400, (517) 335-7858 (Constituent Services)
Get all the tools and knowledge you need to help make sure next year is a success
All you need is a computer and internet to join from your own home. Click here to sign up for educational webinars between July 17–29. Topics include: Communications/Social Media 201, VAN/Data 201, Digital Organizing and Party Branding, Treasurer/Compliance 101, Party 101, Growing Your Local Party, Running for Local Office. - MIDems.com
Take a class on climate change!
100% online, learn on your own schedule. The level is Beginner. Approximately 18 hours to complete. Suggested: 7 weeks of study, 2–4 hours per week. Learn more and/or enroll here .
HHS seeks to rip away LGBTQ+ health care protections
Tell the Department of Health and Human Services what you think of the administration’s proposal to remove nondiscrimination protections from the Affordable Care Act regulations. Before August 13 you can comment on the Federal Register
1) Introduce yourself, 2) State why you oppose the proposal based on your values, and, if applicable, 3) Share a personal story about about how you or a loved one are impacted by gender-based discrimination in health care. 
To be counted, comments must be unique and individual, not scripted. Add details from these sources: Human Rights Campaign and HRC2 , Health Affairs , CNN , and Advocate .
Things to listen to, read, and watch
Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) proposed “mixed status” rule
On May 10, 2019, HUD proposed a rule that will effectively evict tens of thousands of immigrant families, and jeopardize housing subsidies for millions of U.S. citizens. HUD’s new rule will ban “mixed-status” families, comprised of household members who are both eligible and ineligible for federal housing assistance from living in public housing and Section 8 programs, even though assistance is already prorated, or decreased, to exclude ineligible members.
Based on HUD’s own analysis , the new rule will threaten housing for 25,000 mixed-status families — including over 55,000 children who are U.S. citizens or green card holders. The proposed rule will also impose burdensome documentation requirements on over 9 million residents who receive housing subsidies, which will disproportionately impact low-income residents , people of color , Black individuals , people with disabilities , and elderly Americans .
Being “ineligible” for federal housing assistance does not always mean that a resident is undocumented. For example, domestic violence survivors who have U-Visas — which provide victims of abuse and other crimes with temporary immigration status — are not eligible for such assistance and will face eviction if HUD’s proposed rule is finalized .
As previously recognized by Congress, access to stable housing is critical to the wellbeing of domestic violence survivors and their families. HUD’s new rule would erect greater obstacles to such access, destabilizing families as they attempt to escape violence.
If finalized, HUD’s new rule will force affected families to make an agonizing choice: either break up to allow eligible members to keep their benefits or forgo assistance to allow the family to stay together. The downstream effect of this action inflicts significant harm , promotes distrust of government actors , and discourages those in need from seeking assistance. For the majority of families that choose instead to forgo benefits , the housing instability prompted by the proposed rule will be costly and may even result in temporary homelessness. Involuntary displacement frequently leads to employment loss , loss of material possessions, and lasting health issues, including substance abuse .
As stated above, the current law already prevents ineligible immigrants from receiving HUD funds. Section 214 explicitly authorizes a family’s housing subsidy to be prorated to account for ineligible household members .
Local and national protests have happened in the past week
Over 700 Communities across Michigan and the nation gathered last Friday in protest of the human detention camps. Thousands more gathered on Tuesday in Washington D.C. to hold Congress accountable and to demand that ICE be shut down.
Below are pictures taken by Susan Ayer at the Ann Arbor Lights for Liberty: Vigil to shed light on ending human detention camps, onJuly 12, 2019
Impeding progress: work requirements for Medicaid recipients
According to Michigan Advance , starting next year, Michigan Medicaid recipients under the Healthy Michigan program will be subject to work requirements as the result of a 2018 law signed by former Gov. Rick Snyder. This requirement means “able-bodied adults” between the ages of 19 and 62 who receive benefits must provide proof that they’re working at least 80 hours per month in order to stay insured under the program.
  A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine of what occurred in Arkansas when it imposed work requirements for Medicaid recipients documented the futility of such a requirement. The study documented “ significant losses in health insurance coverage in the policy’s initial six months but no significant change in employment,” and found that “thousands of individuals lost coverage, even though more than 95% of the target population appeared to meet the requirements or qualify for an exemption.”
  In June, the Michigan Senate passed bipartisan legislation that would lessen the new work requirements, though some experts say that it may not be sufficient to prevent some from losing their enrollment unnecessarily, as happened in Arkansas.

Update regarding Alabama woman arrested when her fetus died in a shooting…
Prosecutors announced Wednesday that they were dropping the charges.
“There are no winners in this case, only losers in the sad ordeal,” Jefferson County District Attorney Lynneice Washington said in her statement.’
"What we are seeing with this incident is that it’s a crystalizing moment that could galvanize people to what really happens. How pregnant women, particularly women of color are policed,” Nash says. “It could also add fuel to the fire of those who want to take away people’s rights."
Read more- Time.com and The New York Times.

3 GOP House members say no to President’s racist tweets
However, they did not condemn Trump’s comments as racist. As the Advance previously reported , U.S. Rep. Justin Amash (I-Cascade Twp.), who recently left the GOP after coming out in favor of the president’s impeachment, had no problem doing so. Amash called the tweets “racist and disgusting.” Read more here. - Michigan Advance
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PEG is a non-partisan volunteer organization whose mission is to assure that our government will treat all Americans with equality and acceptance. We do our work by recruiting, educating and nurturing supporters for worthy organizations, actions and events that reflect our beliefs.
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Thanks to Newsletter contributors: Richard Gaeth, Bernie Banet, Susan Ayer, Leslie Kamil, Lisa Kamil, Ellen Halter, Leslie McGraw, Janet Cannon, and Chuck Newman for their help preparing this newsletter. Write us at info@equalityingov.org if you would like help create our weekly newsletter. It’s fun and no ongoing commitment is required.
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