Group forms for vigil despite cold Jan. 6 weather
About 50 people came together to remember the Jan. 6 attack on the capitol Thursday at 5 p.m. Photo by Allan Baker
Coinciding with gatherings across the country, around 50 people came together near the south end of the Portage Lake Lift Bridge to recognize the seriousness of the attack in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.
Speakers encouraged attendees to contact their representatives to encourage passage of voting rights legislation, especially at the national level with the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Organizers said that the vigil was bipartisan and that voter’s rights should not be a partisan issue. Speakers reminded attendees that Republican presidents had renewed the original Voting Rights Act of 1965 for decades until recent court cases weakened it. The new voting rights act would renew old rules and more.
The vigil was sponsored and organized by the Justice Ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Church with strong support from the League of Women Voters. Photo by Joshua Vissers
Mary Marchaterre and Kristine Bradof, both leaders in the League of Women Voters of Copper Country, said their attendance at the vigil had everything to do with protecting the American system of voting, not with any politicians or party.
Marchaterre said joining an active organization like the LWVCC is one way to amplify your voice and help keep American democracy strong. While non-profit and by extension non-partisan, the LWVCC keeps several public positions on things from fluoridation in water to the construction of a new Houghton County Jail. They meet regularly and actively promote their goals.
Most of the signs at the vigil focused on the importance of voting and voting rights. Photo by Joshua Vissers
Bradof said she felt politicians being beholden to their political party, be it Republican or Democrat, is stifling debate and compromise.
“I actually think the political parties are ruining our country,” she said.
Growing up in the Chicago area, she saw good and bad politicians in both parties.
“So I was looking for who is the person who’s running who represents my views and looks at things fairly,” Bradof said. “Instead of just following whatever the party line happened to be.”
LWVCC President Barry Fink addresses those gathered for the vigil. Photo by Joshua Vissers
“In America, the voters decide the outcome of elections,” said Barry Fink, LWVCC president, during her remarks. “The promise of democracy is not a partisan issue but a calling that unites us as Americans.”
She decried misinformation promoted by people in danger of losing power that said the election was unfair or rigged, highlighting the many investigations and court cases that found far too little evidence to support such a conclusion.
“The participants [in the Jan. 6 insurrection] were urged to take action, to ignore the evidence that supported the fairness of the elections, and to believe instead the deluge of mis- and disinformation that the election was not fair,” she said.
She expressed disappointment in the failure of Michigan politicians to validate the duly elected officials from the 2020 election both on Jan. 6 and since then.
“The events in Congress and many state legislatures across the nation since January 6 have sadly shown that a large fraction of politicians sees opportunity in tampering with election laws for partisan gain,” Fink said.
The vigil included a moment of silence for the police officers and National Guard members who were called to protect the Capitol on Jan. 6, some of whom lost their lives as a result.
After the vigil, Fink said that Americans have been imagining that the electoral process was somehow sacrosanct, secure, and self-sustaining.
“And in fact, its vulnerabilities have been exposed,” Fink said. “And we need to be mindful that there are factions that actually want to dismantle the way we conduct elections and that means the demise of democracy.”
She said moving beyond the hyper-partisanship that is damaging our country is going to require people to want to run the nation as a collaborative effort, and not be all about who is holding on to power.
Valorie Troesch makes her remarks to the gathered people. Photo by Joshua Vissers
Valorie Troesch, a member of LWVCC, Houghton County Democrats, Voters Not Politicians, and a former candidate for Houghton County Commissioner, also spoke at the vigil. No current county commissioners spoke or made their presence at the event public.
After the vigil, Troesch said the insurrection is the first time in history the loser of a presidential election has tried to overturn the results of that election.
“That’s never happened,” she said. “And we should never forget that because there are people that are still trying to… pass laws that not only suppress voter rights but also will make it easier to overturn future elections.”
Troesch said there would be a lot of opportunities in 2022 for people to work with organizations like LWV and Voters Not Politicians to get involved in keeping American elections fair and open.
Photo by Allan Baker