Michigan
Harris, Whitmer, Stabenow discuss abortion rights in Michigan
With less than a week until the Michigan primary election, Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Great Lake State Thursday for the latest stop of her nationwide “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour, a series of discussions and speeches concerning life in the wake of 2022’s U.S. Supreme Court decision removing federal abortion protections. The tour and its message are central to the reelection strategy of Biden and the Democratic Party, who have seen voters activated in droves across the country to push back on anti-abortion legislation.
The fight this election, they suggest, is to prevent Republicans from governing and introducing a nationwide ban on abortion.
“Freedom is fundamental to the promise of America. And what we saw over a year ago in the highest court in our land, the United States Supreme Court — the court of Thurgood and RBG — took a constitutional right that had been recognized from the people of America, from the women of America,” Harris said ahead of a roundtable discussion with leaders in Michigan, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
Michigan is again considered a swing state in 2024, with a slight Democratic edge — but Democrats, and especially abortion rights advocates, codified reproductive rights and abortion access into the Michigan Constitution by way of a citizen ballot initiative in 2022. When the draft majority opinion in the case that would overturn Roe v. Wade, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, was leaked to the public in May 2022, Michiganders rose up — 30,000 people reached out to the campaign in one day, crashing the website of progressive nonprofit Michigan Voices.
“We had folks from every corner of the state reaching out to make sure that they could get petitions to sign them,” said Sommer Foster, the executive director of Michigan Voices. She recalled a signing event at a coffee shop, where an 18-year-old was desperate to show their support — but they weren’t registered to vote. “So they took out their phone and registered on the spot to make sure that they could sign the petition,” Foster said.
Their measure resonated with young people and doctors and mothers, “who were so angry that their kids were going to live in a country where they had fewer rights than they had growing up,” Foster said. It passed with 56% of the vote.
“And then we turn around and realize that all of this can be stripped away with a national abortion ban,” Stabenow said. “Any woman in this process is not trusted at all, and so we have to do it again. That’s why we’re here: we did it, and we have to do it again, and make sure that we do not see our freedoms stripped away in Michigan or any other state.”
A person’s ballot is not an island — who voters select matters, Stabenow said.
Currently, Michigan Democrats own a trifecta in state government — control of the Governor’s office as well as both chambers of the state legislature, though only offices within the Michigan House of Representatives are up for grabs this year.
As is Harris’s job, as is the job of her boss, President Joe Biden.
“This is an issue that is about fundamental freedoms and liberty,” Harris said. “One must then ask, well, OK, how did this happen? And I would say, ask who’s to blame, and I’ll answer that question,” she added. In short, her answer is former President Donald Trump, who nominated three conservative Supreme Court justices, all of whom turned voted to overturn federal protections on abortion.
Trump, she added, has repeatedly gone on record taking credit for Roe being overturned — a move, she argued, that has resulted in medical providers being threatened with, or sentenced to, jail time; for putting pregnant parents’ lives at risk; to ensure that America’s young women have fewer rights than their parents and grandparents.
“Let’s understand the connection between all of these issues and the responsibility and the role that we each have to protect these fundamental freedoms, and the people of America to be able to make decisions about their own lives and the future of their family.””
Amazon Prime Day 2026 will span four days next week. Here’s when
Amazon Prime Day 2026 begins next week and will last for four days. Only Prime members benefit from Amazon’s biggest annual sales event.
Prime Day is in full swing, and as Michigan residents scroll though deals, there are Michigan-themed coffee/tea mugs to consider, perhaps for a gift or to spice up your morning sip.
Amazon Prime Day — the 4-day event of discounted items for Prime members — begins at 3:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday, June 23, and ends at 2:59 ET, on Friday, June 26.
Here are five fun Michigan-themed mugs to consider as you shop for deals this week:
Michigan coffee mug by Primitives by Kathy
The 18-fluid-ounce Michigan-inspired stoneware mug is designed to represent the state with its scattered wraparound design. It includes a large outline of the state and a deer, surrounded with key words such as “yoopers,” “fudge,” “Big Mac,” “dunes,” “Great Lakes,” “we’re smitten in the mitten,” and others.
It is priced at $11.48 on Amazon Prime. Primitives By Kathy is the name of the company.
Sip and admire a detailed map of Michigan by Xplorer Maps
The founder and owner of the company, Xplorer Maps, illustrates maps by hand on everyday items such as a mug. On Amazon, there is a 16-fluid-ounce mug available that features a map of Michigan on one side with landmarks, and other illustrations of what Michigan is known for on the other side.
It is priced at $19.99 on Amazon Prime.
Represent Michigan with a Detroit Lions coffee mug
There are several Detroit Lions-themed coffee mugs available on Amazon Prime. One design by Rico Industries is a 12-ounce campfire mug fully coated in the iconic honolulu blue shade with a speckled print and the team’s logo.
It is priced at $16.52 on Amazon Prime.
On-the-go Michigan-inspired travel mug
In another busy Michigan design, Swig Life’s 22-ounce insulated travel mug is scattered with the state’s landmarks and key illustrations. The travel mug is cup holder friendly and is stainless steel with a handle.
It is priced at $30.07 on Amazon Prime.
Simple Michigan coffee mug deal on Prime Day
For those who are looking for a more straight-forward design, the coffee mug by Andaz Press via Amazon is perhaps an option. The 11-ounce mug includes a simple print of Michigan’s silhouette with the word “home” beside it.
It is priced at $14.21 on Amazon Prime.
Contact Sarah Moore @ smoore@lsj.com
Lansing — Michigan residents will be able to begin voting this week in the state’s Aug. 4 primary election with nominations for governor, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House and the Legislature hanging in the balance.
Under the Michigan Constitution, by Thursday — 40 days before Election Day — clerks have to ensure that absentee ballots are available for voters and that ballot dropboxes, through which the ballots can be returned, are accessible.
Michael Siegrist, the clerk in Canton Township, said this week marks the start of the election.
“Most of the voters in Michigan are going to have a ballot in their hand within the next week or two,” Siegrist said.
Siegrist, a Democrat and the president of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, was referring to the fact that most of the vote in the primary election is expected to come through absentee ballots.
In the August 2024 primary election, as an example, about 65% of the vote in Michigan’s largest county, Wayne County, came via absentee ballots.
Adrian Hemond, a Michigan political consultant and CEO of the firm Grassroots Midwest, said it will be difficult this year for candidates who go into Election Day behind their opponents on absentee ballots to catch up.
“It’s basically the election,” Hemond said of the absentee ballot window.
A larger portion of the vote in primaries comes through absentee ballots than in general elections because there’s usually a smaller pool of voters in primaries and primary participants tend to be more educated about their ballot options.
Before 2018, Michigan voters generally had to have an explanation to cast an absentee ballot, like they planned to be out of state on the date of the election. But in 2018, they approved a ballot proposal that allowed for no-reason absentee voting, broadly providing the option to submit an absentee ballot through the mail, a dropbox or by turning it in at the clerk’s office.
Local clerks can’t begin processing and tabulating the absentee ballots until July 27, at the earliest.
Also, in July, Michiganians can begin voting early in person into a tabulator. The exact date of the early voting window opening depends on decisions made by local clerks, but it has to start statewide by July 25.
In Michigan’s last primary election in a year when the governor’s office was on the ballot, about 2.17 million voters participated, according to the Secretary of State’s tracking.
Both Republican and Democratic primary ballots have contested races for their gubernatorial nominations this year.
On the Democratic side, voters will pick between Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson of Detroit and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson. On the GOP side, there are four candidates on the ballot: former Attorney General Mike Cox of Livonia, U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, businessman Perry Johnson of Bloomfield Hills and state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt of Porter Township.
Early polling has indicated that Republican gubernatorial race and the Democratic campaign for U.S. Senate might be close. The Democratic U.S. Senate contest has three contenders: former public health official Abdul El-Sayed of Ann Arbor, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham.
Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers is the lone Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.
Tony Forlini, the clerk in Macomb County, said he expects voters who are on the permanent absentee ballot list to begin getting the ballots in the coming days. Some of them will turn their filled-out ballots in as soon as they have the chance, Forlini said.
“We’re ready for it,” said Forlini, a Republican who’s running for secretary of state this fall
In Michigan’s largest city, Detroit, election officials are sending out 99,000 absentee ballots for the primary, said Matt Friedman, spokesman for Detroit Votes, the nonpartisan voter information campaign that partners with Detroit’s elections department.
“Voters are starting to receive absentee ballots this week for the primary election, as they have for the third consecutive year in Detroit, under Michigan’s absentee and early voting laws that took effect in 2024 as part of Michigan’s Constitution,” Friedman said.
In the August 2024 primary, about 63% of Detroit’s 84,994 ballots cast were absentee, about 3% were early votes and about 34% were in-person Election Day votes.
cmauger@detroitnews.com,
(FOX 2) – Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel is stepping down from her position, the governor’s office announced.
Hertel led the division for several years while serving under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, including during the pandemic. While she will be tackling a new chapter in her career, it’s unclear where her next position will be.
Amy Epkey has been promoted to acting director of the agency. She will assume the role on July 1.
What they’re saying:
“Amy Epkey brings decades of experience in state government and a proven record of leadership, and I am confident she will continue the important work of the Department of Health and Human Services,” the governor said in a statement. “I also want to thank Director Hertel for her dedicated service to our state. Under her leadership, MDHHS helped Michigan navigate unprecedented challenges, expanded access to health care, strengthened behavioral health services, and improved outcomes for families across our state.”
Dig deeper:
Epkey previously worked in the financial operations administration at MDHHS, overseeing the agency’s $40 billion budget, contracts and grants, as well as finance and accounting.
Epkey has also worked within the state’s environmental and agricultural departments.
Zoom out:
Hertel cited the expansion of behavioral health services, designing two new state-of-the-art psychiatric hospitals, as well as launching the Keep Kids Safe Action Agenda as among her accomplishments.
The Source: The Michigan governor’s office issued a news release that was cited for this story.
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