Michigan’s crucial November election: Key races, how to vote
The November election in Michigan will be crucial, with important races for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives at stake. Here’s how to vote and make sure your voice is heard.
For every action in nature – and some in human life – there is an equal and opposite reaction.
When Birmingham resident Nikki Sapiro Vinckier decorated her front yard with campaign signs promoting Kamala Harris’s presidential candidacy, an anonymous neighbor demanded that the signs be removed. Building a whole row of signs violated the city’s ordinance requiring only one sign, according to the neighbor, who put a list of intimidating rules for signs in Sapiro Vinckier’s mailbox.
The rules looked real. But both the mayor and the city manager of Birmingham basically said, “Nothing to do—put up as many signs as you want until the election,” Sapiro Vinckier said. That drew more than equal and opposite reactions. The happy Harris supporter ordered a whole lot more signs and put them up in her front yard. The pink signs feature a symbol for reproductive rights, a design widely available on Etsy and other websites. Others are white and bear a Harris quote Sapiro Vinckier chose that rings true for her: “We must be a nation that trusts women.”
“In total, I ordered over 7,000 signs or facilitated the ordering with my design,” she said. Many came to Michigan, but “hundreds were delivered to other swing states,” she said.
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On Tuesday afternoon, Sapiro Vinckier set up stalls in Birmingham’s Adams Park and sold the signs to anyone who came and asked for donations of any amount. After receiving more than 12,000 likes and 220,000 views on videos in which she shared her experiences of freedom of speech in politics, she expected demand to outstrip supply, even given the gloomy weather forecast for Tuesday. In fact, there were takers for more than 600 signs in pouring rain, she said via text message.
The signs, which feature a reproductive rights symbol, speak to the values that are critical to Sapiro Vinckier, a gynecological resident. The other signs — those that read “We must be a nation that trusts women” — use a quote attributed to both Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, according to online politics websites.
“I have family members on both sides. And actually my goal is to start a conversation, not to be derogatory,” said Sapiro Vinckier. Politics have become so confrontational that her goal on social media and in her videos is to “remain lighthearted,” she said.
In that positive spirit, she left a note on her lawn for the anonymous neighbor. In the note, she politely thanked him for his “concern” and called it a “beautiful virtue,” but warned the intruder not to put anything else in her mailbox. Although this rule is widely abused, it states that only U.S. mail belongs in mailboxes.
Republican volunteers plan to hand out campaign posters at this weekend’s Arts, Beats & Eats festival in downtown Royal Oak, said Vance Packard, chairman of the Oakland County Republican Party.
“Just like last year, we will be handing out signs and informational materials and also have Trump and patriotic merchandise for sale,” Packard said.
Contact Bill Laytner: [email protected]
