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CPR’s 15th Annual Legislative Education Day Comes to Lansing on June 16
Citizens for Prison Reform will host its 15th Annual Legislative Education Day on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on the Capitol Lawn in Lansing. This year’s theme is “Building Bridges to a Safer Michigan: Advancing Justice, Supporting Families, and Strengthening Communities.” For 15 years, CPR’s Legislative Education Day has brought…
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New Report Examines Conditions and Long Sentences for Women in Michigan Prisons
A new report highlighted by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) examines the experiences of women serving long prison sentences in Michigan and the disproportionate harms many continue to face while incarcerated. The report focuses on women serving life and long-term sentences, many of whom are survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, trauma, and abuse…
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Federal Appeals Court Hears DOJ Push for Michigan’s Unredacted Voter Rolls
A federal appeals court heard arguments this week in an ongoing lawsuit over the U.S. Department of Justice’s attempt to obtain Michigan’s full, unredacted voter file, including private voter information such as Social Security number information. The case stems from a 2025 request by the DOJ seeking voter roll data from Michigan and multiple other…
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VAAC Friday Community Meeting on May 22nd
VAAC Friday Community Meetings are a weekly space for connection, updates, and shared learning. May 22 | Mental Health Awareness Month Conversation Join VAAC on May 22 at 12:30 PM for our Friday Community meeting, featuring special guest Hakim Crampton. Hakim Crampton is a Lyrical Educator, Hip Hopologist, Justice Advocate, Author, Consultant, Healing Centered Practitioner,…
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Mop Up Michigan Signature Push Continues to May 13th
VAAC is partnering with Voters Not Politicians as part of the Michiganders for Money Out of Politics (MMOP) campaign, a statewide grassroots effort focused on reducing the influence of corporate money in Michigan elections. The proposal would:• Ban regulated utilities from making political contributions• Ban corporations with large state or local government contracts from contributing…
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Sign #HandsOffMIVote Open Letter: Protect Access, Support Election Workers
Proposals that would require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote continue to advance at both the state and federal level. These policies are presented as election security measures, but they target a problem that has repeatedly been shown to be extremely rare while risking the exclusion of eligible voters from the democratic process.…
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Upcoming Community Events in May
VAAC will be joining and supporting several community events throughout May focused on access, safety, support, and civic engagement. Detroit Warrant Clinic | May 16 VAAC is co-hosting Our Own Wall Street’s Detroit Warrant Clinic on May 16, 2026 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. This clinic is for individuals with arrest warrants from the…
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Voting Rights Art Pop-Ups Continue in May
Voting Access for All Coalition (VAAC), in partnership with Indivisible Metro Detroit, is continuing a series of community pop-ups to build a collaborative Voting Rights Art Installation on May 19th and 28th. At a time when barriers to voting are growing, these gatherings create space for people to express personal experiences, frustrations, memories, and hopes…
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Mother’s Day, Black Mama’s Bail Out, Support for Incarcerated Mothers
Mother’s Day can be a painful reminder of separation for families impacted by incarceration. Black Mama’s Bail Out began in 2017 as a national effort to bail out Black mamas and caregivers from jails and migrant detention centers before Mother’s Day. The campaign uses the term “Mama” broadly to include Black women, femmes, gender-nonconforming people,…
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Statewide Jail Voting Workgroup Continues Expanding Coordination Across Michigan
VAAC’s Statewide Jail Voting Workgroup continues building a coordinated effort to protect and expand voting access for eligible voters detained in Michigan county jails. In Michigan, many people in jail are legally eligible to vote, but access often depends on systems that are inconsistent, difficult to navigate, or unavailable altogether. This workgroup brings together organizations,…