Priorities USA Statement on Michigan Transportation Ban Case
Today, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a District Court decision which had preliminarily enjoined Michigan’s discriminatory voter transportation ban. The case was brought by Priorities, Rise Inc., and the Detroit/Downriver Chapter of the A. Philip Randolph Institute. The decision follows an earlier ruling by the same panel of judges that, in October 2020, temporarily suspended a preliminary injunction against the ban, which makes it a misdemeanor to pay to transport voters to the polls unless they are physically unable to walk. Michigan is the only state in the nation that prohibits neighbors, community organizations, political groups, and rideshare companies like Uber from using their financial resources to help its citizens get to the polls. Priorities USA Deputy Executive Director Aneesa McMillan, who leads Priorities’ voting rights efforts, issued the following statement in response to the ruling:
“While not surprising, this ruling is extremely disappointing and a setback for democracy in Michigan. It is shameful that the Republican-controlled Legislature would waste public resources in an attempt to use the courts to strip voting rights from the people they represent,” said Aneesa McMillan, Deputy Executive Director of Priorities USA. “Fortunately, the decision by the Sixth Circuit does not affect the ultimate outcome of our claims, and we will continue to vigorously pursue a challenge to the Voter Transportation Ban and the Absentee Ballot Organizing Ban in the District Court. Priorities USA will continue to stand up for voting rights, particularly for the Black, brown, young, elderly and disabled communities who have been disproportionately hurt by these restrictions to ballot access.”