PODCAST:
May 20, 2026 ~ Principal of Roe Strategic Jason Roe and former Chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party Lon Johnson are heading up “Voters Not Insiders” ballot drive which would allow voters to choose candidates for Attorney General and Secretary of State via primary and not conventions.
DETROIT, MICH. ~ Next week is the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference where the “Voters Not Insiders” ballot drive will be introduced. This proposal is pushing to have the August primary determine who will be Michigan’s Attorney General and Secretary of State rather than allowing party insiders to select the candidates for the general election ballot at partisan conventions.
“We did polling two years ago. 80% of voters supported putting this on the primary ballot, these offices specifically. Only 9% opposition while 62% strongly supported,” Principal of Roe Strategic Jason Roe said on Focus. “And for those that think that maybe the more partisan members of the two parties would feel differently, it had overwhelming support for MAGA Republicans and Sanders Democrats.”
The process will need to undergo constitutional change as it has been this way since 1963. Roe, along with former Chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party Lon Johnson, have been talking with former governors of both parties and other leaders to help the first step get off the ground, which is writing up legislation.
