Mobilizing the health care community to register Michigan patients to vote.
Healthy Democracy Michigan!
Healthy Democracy Michigan is a state based mobilization aimed at leveraging healthcare providers, hospitals, medical schools, and clinics through out the state of Michigan to help register their patients to vote.
For the last two years we have been mobilizing partners throughout the state of Michigan to build sustained power and capacity to do voter registration and voter turnout year round.
Our Theory of Change
Millions of potential voting-age Michiganders are not registered to vote. This group is disproportionately made up of the young, the poor, and people of color, the very same groups that are most hurt by our broken healthcare system. Each year, there are 20 million visits to ERs, clinics, and health centers across Michigan. Helping these patients vote in health care settings is the key to inviting this hard to reach population into the democratic process.
Health Care Provider Mobilization in Michigan
Vot-ER has mobilized over 1700 health care providers in Michigan who have Healthy Democracy Kits and use them on a regular basis to help their patients check their voter registration, register to vote, or get a mail in ballot to vote from home. These Vot-ER members are physicians, medical students, nurses, and social workers who each and every shift in the hospital – see the health inequities that stem from a democratic process where millions of voting-age eligible adults aren’t registered to vote and don’t have a seat at the table.
Hospital and Clinic Sites
Throughout the state we partner with over 20 different health systems, hospitals, and clinics that provide direct clinical care to patients in the state. We aim to grow this list to 200 partners in the lead up to the 2022 election cycle.
| Packard Health |
| WMed Health |
| St. Joes Neighborhood Family Health Center |
| University of Michigan Student Run Free Clinic |
| St. Joseph Mercy Hospital |
| Trestlewood Pediatrics |
| Honor Community Health |
| Western Wayne Family Health Centers |
| Detroit Public Health STD Clinic |
| Family Empowerment Program |
| Sparrow Hospital |
| University of Michigan |
| University of Michigan Medical School |
| Great Lakes Bay Health Centers |
| Michigan State College of Human Medicine |
| MidMichigan Community Health Services |
| Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine |
| Ascension Health |
| Beaumont Health |
| Corner Health |
| Bronson Healthcare Group |
| Cornerstone University |
| Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center |
| Wayne State University PA Program |
| Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine |
These sites currently register patients using three different Vot-ER programs:
Site Based
Posters and discharge paperwork at hospitals, health centers, and clinics across Michigan used to register patients to vote.
Healthy Democracy Kits
Used by providers to prompt patients in the moment to take an action related to civic engagement. It includes a “Ready to Vote?” lanyard and a voter registration badge.
Digital
Supports hospitals and community health centers to directly engage patients about voting through SMS and hospital webpages.
Healthy Democracy Campaign 2021
School-Specific Badges Give Us the Ability To Track Engagement!
Each medical school in Michigan gets access to free Healthy Democracy Kits and resources like posters, handouts, and flyers that are unique to their own school!
Statewide Scoreboard to Track Results!
We are proud to announce that we have the ability to track the number of voter registrations and mail-in ballot requests that each individual school is able to produce! This will allow us to crown a winner.
Read about our Michigan partners in the press!
Medical students from OUWB join national voter registration campaign