A full house at the Michigan Union’s Anderson Room, and 25 Zoom participants were part of today’s meeting.  After zoom etiquette from Ashok Natwa, President Mark Foster rang the bell and the meeting began.  Our pianist extraordinaire, Tom Strode, was unable to be at today’s meeting, so songleader Richard Ingram gave us the opening chord to My Country ’Tis of Thee, and our club sang an exceptionally strong a capella rendition.

Michelle Deatrick gave a moving inspiration by reading Woman Work from poet/author Maya Angelou.  Ingram came back to the podium and piano, gave us the opening chord, and our club again acing a capella, sang America the Beautiful.

President Mark welcomed members and guests, including a happy abundance of friends of today’s speaker, Connie Cook.   Foster thanked members who helped to make today’s meeting happen:   Linda Kentes, Ashok Natwa, Don Duquette, Steve Kesler, Dennis Burke, Tucker Rossmaessler, Ginny Leone, Mary Steffek Blaske, Greg Stejskal, and Ugur Cetin.

New member Tucker Rossmaessler announced the happy birthdays for the week, then President Mark wished Rotary itself a happy 119th Birthday (Feb. 23).

The entire club stood in silent remembrance of Jim Miller, 38-year club member and beloved by all, who died this week.

President Mark regaled us with pun-ishments from the humor vault of George Carlin, including “if the #2 pencil is the most popular, why is it still #2?” and “why did the police officer tell the Mime artist he had the right to remain silent?”

Tom Millard and Downs Herold took the podium to share information about the Club’s Historical Committee.  Did you know that our Club has enjoyed always had a weekly luncheon and speaker? There is a bounty of material about our Club housed in the Bentley Library.  Millard and Herold invite you to join the Committee and gather information, update materials and get us ready for our next milestone anniversary. Our Club has been contacted by a professor searching information about poet Robert Frost speaking to our Club in the Spring of 1922 – a fun detective project for someone in the Club.  You are welcome at their next meeting is Feb. 28 at 11:00 a.m. in order to identify and prioritize projects and update print and digital archives at the Bentley.

Rob Shiff reminded that like the US Olympic hockey team 40 years ago, our Club also believes in miracles.  The many technical and logistic problems in working with zoom are resolved thanks to the help of the dedicated work of Don Duquette, Steve Kessler, Rob Shiff and Linda Kentes.   25-30% of our members who are unable to attend our meetings in person, can and do attend thanks to Zoom. There are still considerable computer issues, and a new laptop (mac or pc) would help immensely.  If you have a new, functional laptop you are not using, and would like to donate it to the Club, please contact Shiff or Kentes.

Dallas Dort introduced speaker Connie Cook, who gave us the up-to-date facts about Michigan’s new voting laws, “Voting in 2024 and How Our New Laws Will Benefit Michigan Voters.”    Cook prefaced her talk by saying that it was such fun for her to be here and seeing so many friends.  Husband Jim Cook, sitting near the podium beamed with pride, and Cook continued by saying, “I am honored and grateful to speak here.”

Cook is a volunteer and Board member of Voters Not Politicians (VNP).  She reminded us that in 2022, some people thought there was massive voter fraud, and their answer to fraud was to suppress voters’ rights. VNP and other groups set out to protect voters’ rights and combat voter suppression and intimidation. The petition to put voting rights on the ballot received more than 660,000 signatures. Then, in the November 2022 election, Prop 22-2 passed with 61% of voters in favor. This was a huge victory in ensuring that our right to the ballot would be protected statewide.  Proposal 22-2 has been in effect since December 2022, and was signed into law by Governor Whitmer in June 2023.

Cook noted that the new voting laws include:

* Permanent Absentee Ballot List

* Drop Boxes & Enhanced Options for Returning Absentee Ballots

* Ballot Tracking, and

* Early Voting

Previously, Michigan voters could sign up to receive an absentee ballot application before each election. Now, you can sign up to receive a ballot before every election. This is not an application for a ballot, but an actual ballot. You don’t have to submit a new application for every single election. The list that will let you receive a ballot every time is called the Permanent Absentee Voter Ballot List. When voting absentee, voters will no longer need to pay for postage for an absentee ballot or ballot application.

Finally, for absentee voters, each city and township must have at least one official absentee drop box for every 15,000 voters.  Drop boxes in Ann Arbor are at Ann Arbor City Hall; fire stations 5 and 6;  Cobblestone Farm; Veterans Park; UM Campus; Arrowwood Hills Community Center; and Huron Hills Golf Course.  Additional Washtenaw County drop boxes are IN EVERY CITY AND TOWNSHIP HALL, plus City of Saline, 114 E. Michigan Ave.; City of Ypsilanti at both the Parkridge Community Center, and EMU Student Center; Pittsfield Township Community Center, Superior Township Utilities building, Ypsilanti Township Fire station 3, Fire Station at Ford Blvd, and the Community Center.

The new voting rights include an online state-funded tracking system for absentee ballots and ballot applications. Now, voting is easier for military and overseas absentee voters whose ballots will be counted if postmarked by election day and received within six days.

Now voting is easier for in-person, early voting (EV). Voters have nine consecutive days of early voting for statewide and federal elections (including weekends) from the second Saturday before the election to the Sunday before. Early voters have the same rights as Election Day voters, and early voting locations will have to abide by the same rules as voting precincts.  While early voting is required for statewide and federal elections, local governments can choose to incorporate early voting for local or special elections.

Voters will also be able to bring their completed absentee ballot to their early voting site or Election Day polling location, fill out an application to vote, and then insert their completed ballot directly into the tabulator.

Current ID requirements for voting will stay the same. Photo identification will still be required to vote in person, however, voters without an ID can still sign an affidavit and vote that way.

 in City of Ann Arbor:

* Ann Arbor City Hall

* UM Museum of Art (Feb & Nov only)

* Duderstadt Center (Feb & Nov only)

* AADL: Traverwood, Mallets Creek, Westgate

City of Milan:

* Milan City Hall

Bridgewater Township:

* Bridgewater Township Hall

Ypsilanti Township:

* Ypsilanti Township Hall

* Ypsilanti Township Community Center (E. Clark Rd.)

With these voting provisions, there will be shorter lines for in-person on Election Day since people will be able to vote up to nine days ahead of time.

Cook noted that a crucial resource for next year’s elections is going to be our state’s voting website: mi.gov/vote. You can use it to:

* Register to vote (only when it is more than 14 days before the election) and check your voting registration

* Find your polling place, and

* Find the closest drop box and early polling locations near you.

Cook concluded by telling us what we can do to support Michigan’s new voting rights which include talking our friends, family, and neighbors about the new ways they can cast their ballot. And finding three people you know and help them make a plan to vote. We can also sign up to be a poll worker or poll challenger.

Cook graciously introduced

 

, the Chief Deputy Clerk / Director of Elections for Washtenaw County, who spoke to our Club in 2022.  He fielded a myriad of questions from the Club making each of us very glad he is at the helm.

After a warm round of applause of Cook and Golembiewski, President Mark asked the Club members to rise and recite the Rotary Four-Way Test:

Is it the TRUTH?

Is it FAIR to all concerned?

* Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS; and

* Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Steffek Blaske

Registered Early Voter