Election question-answering event on Thursday | News, Sports, Jobs

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ALPENA – The Northern Michigan Community Conversation Tour focusing on election integrity will visit Alpena on Thursday.

Two nonpartisan Michigan organizations, Keep Our Republic and Michiganders for Civic Resilience, will host the event.

This week, the tour will visit five communities across the state where voters can learn more about what happens after they cast their ballot, develop a deeper understanding of the election process and protect themselves against misinformation about election integrity.

“This event is all about conversation,” said Ari Mittleman, executive director of Keep Our Republic. “The community is invited to ask questions, from 'What happens after you cast your vote by mail?' to 'What happens when the polls close?' And there are no bad questions.”

Thursday's event will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Granum Theater at Alpena Community College and admission is free.

With the election approaching, the organizations hosting Thursday's event want to show the importance of every vote and the path of data from Alpena County to Lansing.

“We want people to believe in the process,” Mittleman said. “We want to educate people because, for better or worse, there's a lot of money being spent on campaigns and politics is heavy in the air right now.”

Thursday's event will feature several speakers, including former state Reps. Lisa Posthumus Lyons and Christine Greig, former state senator and current Michigan Political Program co-director Tonya Schuitmaker, and Alpena Secretary-Treasurer Anna Soik.

Keep Our Republic focuses particularly on unconventional threats to the electoral system, according to the group's website. The organization also discusses ways to increase trust in the electoral system, focusing on election integrity to ensure that every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast their ballot and have their vote counted and properly certified.

The organization has councils in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and has hosted events like Thursday's since its founding in spring 2020, with the actual launch coming last fall with the Michigan events.

“Keep Our Republic and Michiganders for Civic Resilience have joined forces to create community-based discussions about election integrity and transparency,” Mittleman said. “Both organizations are equally represented by Democrats and Republicans to create a climate of trust and accountability that is critical in today's polarized election climate. As we launch our Northern Michigan Community Conversation Tour across Michigan, we hope citizens find renewed energy and confidence in the electoral process.”

For more information about the event and Keep Our Republic, visit KeepOurRepublic.org.

Reach Torianna Marasco at 989-358-5686 or [email protected].