ACLU of Michigan

08/26/2026

The Waterford Township Police Department has spent over $160,000 on its 16 Flock cameras and are standing firm behind this network while their residents voice their frustrations, and neighboring communities pull back on the technology.

Policy strategists with the ACLU of Michigan warn that retaining 30 days of unindexed roadway data creates detailed movement logs of drivers who are not suspected of any criminal activity, posing serious Fourth Amendment privacy risks

Read more:

Waterford police say Flock cameras aren't mass surveillance. Not everyone in town is buying it.

08/26/2026

Local officials across Michigan are highly confident in their ability to administer safe and secure elections, with 95% of city and township clerks reporting that they are "very confident" in their ability to administer an accurate election this November.

Particularly through a nationwide rise of disinformation about elections, it is important to remember that elections belong to the people, and that your vote matters.

Read more:

Despite their high confidence overall, almost half of surveyed election officials worried about the cost of running elections.

08/25/2026

POV: You spend your summer interning at the ACLU of Michigan and leave with new skills, new experiences and plenty of stories to tell.

Our summer intern Cayden Brown is giving us the inside scoop on what brought him to the ACLU of Michigan, what surprised him most and what made his internship one to remember.

Thinking about interning with us? Take it from Cayden: Go for it!

Summer 2027 Legal Internship applications are open! Apply here: https://tinyurl.com/3trktr5x

08/24/2026

Michigan's LGBTQ+ community is celebrating its first Transgender and Nonbinary Pride and History Month this month, which was an idea brought to life by advocate Michelle Fox-Phillips and confirmed by a proclamation from Governor Whitmer earlier this summer.

Jay Kaplan, Nancy Katz & Margo Dichtelmiller LGBTQ+ Rights Project Staff Attorney with the ACLU of Michigan, helped to kick off the celebration last week by speaking about ongoing legal cases affecting the transgender community and the policy fights ahead.

"Because we're being scapegoated by the government, it was time to show our pride," says Fox-Phillips.

Read more:

Michigan's LGBTQ+ community is celebrating its first Transgender and Nonbinary Pride and History Month this August, an initiative born from one

08/23/2026

The votes are in on the Michigan’s ‘Vote’ sticker contest. See the winners, register to vote, and vote! Elections belong to the people - and future voters like these amazing kids!

The winners for Michigan’s second “I voted” sticker design contest have been announced. The stickers include drawings of license plates, cute critters, the Edmund Fitzgerald, and other odes to Michigan culture.

08/21/2026

The ACLU of Michigan sent a letter to the Mayor of Saginaw last week to raise concerns about a proposed "nuisance gathering" ordinance that the city is considering adopting. As stated by ACLU of Michigan Senior Staff Attorney Marc Allen, who drafted the letter, “If adopted, the sweeping ordinance would violate the constitutional rights of the citizens of Saginaw and simply cannot be tolerated."

The letter also points out that the definition of "nuisance gathering" is so broad that it would include common social activities such as attending a concert, religious service, or political rally. The proposed ordinance also threatens to criminally punish those who are merely present where someone else may have committed a minor violation like littering or applauding too loudly. Vague laws like this invite discriminatory enforcement, potentially targeting religious communities, people of color, and others.

The Saginaw City Council has since postponed the vote until November as they work to revise the ordinance in a way that protects people's rights and keeps the community safe.

Council voted 8-1 to revisit the proposal after hearing concerns from residents, civil rights groups, and protesters that the measure could overreach and violate constitutional rights.

08/19/2026

It’s Automatic License Plate Reader Week of Action -- and we’re calling attention to the growing threat automatic license plate readers pose to our privacy.

ALPRs collect massive amounts of data about where people go, when they go there, and how often -- creating detailed records of our movements with few protections in place.

This technology is already being used across Michigan. That’s why we continue to push for commonsense guardrails that limit how ALPR data can be collected, stored, accessed, and shared.

This week, we’re breaking down what ALPRs are, how they’re used, and why strong privacy protections matter.

Because driving down the street shouldn’t mean giving up your right to privacy.

Learn more at https://www.aclumich.org/know-your-tech/

08/12/2026

We are in the fight of a lifetime to defend our rights, our freedoms, and our democracy.

Our Power & Purpose Training is a free, high-impact, one-day experience designed to give you the tools to organize, mobilize, and lead in this critical moment.

You’ll learn how to:

👉🏽Understand the threat of authoritarianism and the power of mass nonviolent resistance to defend democracy.

👉🏽Learn how to map our communities and engage people through persuasive, values-based conversations.

👉🏽Gain skills to build authentic relationships and overcome hesitation in talking to friends and family about what’s at stake.

👉🏽Develop a plan to activate your networks and inspire others to take meaningful collective action.

This is a full-day, in-person training. ASL interpretation and closed captioning will be provided.

Visit the link to join us in Flint on September 19: https://tinyurl.com/36vp9wee

08/11/2026

Today is Poll Worker Recruitment Day! Serving as a poll worker is one of the most effective ways to support elections — you’ll hand out ballots, greet voters, and help clerks ensure a safe and secure election.

Sign up today and help your neighbors vote: https://tinyurl.com/y3pvr927

08/08/2026

We're hiring a Communications Strategist!

This role works closely with colleagues across the Communications, Legal, and Political departments to create and execute media strategies and support digital strategy. This person should have a keen sense of how media relations work, expert writing skills, and a deep passion for social justice issues. This is a full-time position reporting directly to the Deputy Communication Director and based at our Detroit office.

To apply, visit our website: https://www.aclumich.org/careers/