Edwina and her husband James, who lead Team Lansing together, sat down to talk about what drives their team to be out registering voters week after week—and why they’ll be out for the next weekend of action.

James: When [our team] first started, I said, ‘For each member on the team, we want to have five one-on-one meetings to recruit other supporters.’ Let me tell you—they looked at me like I was crazy. But we ended up being champions for the number of one-on-ones in our area. And we did the same thing with phonebanking, and we even exceeded our goals so we helped out other teams with their goals. Now our team is pumped up, and we’ve got that teamwork mentality, and we’re going to get out there and do voter registration.

Edwina: By being out there [registering voters], whether we’re at the church or at the barbershop or wherever, the community knows us and trusts us. We’d say, ‘Don’t just bring yourself; you go and get the rest of your family, and we’ll teach them about their voting rights.’ Then, they would bring their cousins and their friends.

James: It’s a real personal thing; just a really gratifying thing. It’s about building those relationships.

Edwina: In this area, high school graduates celebrate by having open houses, where they invite all their friends and the whole neighborhood. So what we’re going to do this May and June is talk to the parents and give them a clipboard with a laminated sample of the voter registration form. If you take one of the packets to an open house, and get someone there who’s familiar with those kids, you’ll register all of those kids. It makes it easy for them. They get what registering to vote is and why it matters—it’s just a matter of showing them how to do it.

While the South Lansing team is out in their community, they’re not only registering voters—they’re also encouraging other supporters to get involved.

Edwina: We went over to the University of Michigan to talk to some of the student groups affiliated with the black alumni organization. And my husband talked to [the students] about getting involved—and they just didn’t know they could get involved like that! They all said, “We can do this? We want to do voter reg!” You know, with a lot of these kids, there’s so much frustration in their lives, it’s tough. But by giving them this information, you’re showing them that they’re valuable: that they can do something in their community.

If you’re ready to register voters in your community, sign up now for a weekend of action event coming up this Saturday and Sunday.

Find an event near you

Two more office openings, an office mural in progress, and a rare glimpse of a rainbow outside one of our field offices - it was another exciting week in Michigan. Check out the highlights in the slideshow, and then sign up for Wednesday's very special Michigan volunteer conference call with the First Lady to hear more about what's at stake in this election.

When people ask me why I’m volunteering for the President, I start with my story.

I am the spouse of a retired UAW member. I was born and raised in Chicago, but have lived in Flint for the past 37 years. I remember when this city had a bustling downtown filled with energy, opportunity and promise. Sadly, Flint has become a portrait of devastation and struggle triggered by automobile plant closings and a lack of viable employment opportunities.

I have so much appreciation for President Obama’s compassion, courage and wisdom when it came to the restructuring of the auto industry. He understood the importance of “Made in America” and the necessity to intervene for the good of the American worker and Michigan communities. Don’t forget the Affordable Care Act, which exemplifies that a healthy life should be a right and not a privilege.

I still have hope. The President’s actions have demonstrated that he will continue to address the issues that are important to revitalizing our economy, education and health care. I still have hope that Flint will turn around and become the vibrant city it once was. That’s why I am committed to helping in any way that I can to ensure President Obama can finish what he started.

Stand with Jennifer and join us for the opening of our new field office in Flint tomorrow.

By now, you’ve maybe heard that Mitt Romney is trying to take credit for the auto rescue. Michiganders haven’t forgotten those famous last words: “Let Detroit go bankrupt.” We asked them what they thought of his curious new stance.

Sara W., UAW Member, Sterling Heights:

“He said what? I work at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, which was scheduled to close on December 10, 2010. When President Obama stepped in to rescue the industry, our plant was given a new lease on life. Demand is high now – and our summer shutdown has been canceled to keep up with production. My coworkers can now pay their bills on time and feed their families. We know that Mitt Romney had absolutely nothing to do with this!”

Pat M., Rochester

“After a long year of unemployment and struggling to keep our home, my husband was hired by a company that managed an IT project for General Motors. Two years later, he’s still there. Would that have happened if Mitt had let Detroit go bankrupt?”

Chris L., Howell

“I have put many hours into working at the Chrysler Jefferson North and Sterling Heights factories as a contractor. My colleagues and I are thankful for President Obama’s commitment to an industry that is the backbone of Michigan and much of the region.”

Take the next step and share how the auto rescue has impacted your Michigan community today.