Volunteers with the Michigan-based nonprofit Rank MI Vote have been working hard to get ranked choice voting on the general election ballot in November 2026.

Their effort just passed the state board of canvassers on Friday. Now they need to get hundreds of thousands of signatures over the next 180 days to get the initiative on the ballot. If passed, voters would be able to rank political candidates by their preference.

Pat Zabawa, executive director of Rank MI Vote, joined The Metro on Wednesday to make the case for ranked choice voting and why he says it would more accurately reflect the will of Michigan voters.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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Some Michiganders will begin casting ballots in the state’s Aug. 4 primary election as early as next week, with absentee voting beginning Thursday, June 26. 

Federal and state laws require equal access to voting for people with disabilities. But for many, voting in person remains a challenge. 

According to a May report from Detroit Disability Power, only 13% of nearly 300 metro Detroit polling locations that the organization surveyed in 2024 were found to be accessible to people with disabilities. 

DDP Advocacy Director Eric Welsby joined The Metro to discuss how to close the accessibility gap for the roughly 30% of voters in the region with disabilities.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

More stories from The Metro