About 200 faith leaders gathered in cities across Michigan to speak out against what they said are alarming attacks by Republicans against voter rights and equal access to the ballot.

They are part of an effort to defend voters as they head to the polls next month in the August primary, with some pastors in Michigan planning workshops and nonviolent resistance training in the coming weeks in case of intimidation attempts.

At Central United Methodist Church, one of the two oldest Protestant churches in Detroit, about 75 clergy stood in the sanctuary on Tuesday, July 7, under banners that read "Peace" and "Justice" to declare they will mobilize to defend voter rights this year.

Similar gatherings were held Tuesday at churches in Lansing and Grand Rapids. The press conferences were held the day after reports that the Department of Justice is sending election monitors to three cities in Michigan − Detroit, Lansing and East Lansing − for the Aug. 4 primary election. The department confirmed to the Detroit Free Press on Tuesday that they are sending the monitors.

Speakers at the churches said the federal monitors being sent to Michigan are an attempt to intimidate voters. The Justice Department has previously sent letters to the three cities, accusing them "of long lines, a lack of provisional ballots and concerns over Voter Accessible Terminals during the 2024 General Election," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in a joint statement Monday, July 6. Nessel and Benson called the accusations "false allegations."

"This is one just one more attempt ... to frustrate the right to vote" and "undermine public confidence in our state and local election administration," said the Rev. Paul Perez, the lead minister at Central United Methodist Church, where the Detroit press conference was held.

In a statement Tuesday to the Detroit Free Press, a spokesperson for the Justice Department confirmed they are sending monitors to Michigan, but said it's a practice done previously.

"The Department confirms it notified three Michigan cities last week of its intent to send election monitors for the Aug. 4 primary," the Justice Department official said. "These jurisdictions have received Civil Rights Division monitors in past elections under previous administrations as well."

Perez was joined by Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and Jewish clergy, including some of Detroit's prominent pastors, such as the Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit branch of the NAACP and pastor at Fellowship Chapel.

"The U.S. Constitution placed a system of voting in the hands of the states," Anthony said. "It is not at the whim of any president or any king."

Clerics oppose SAVE voting bill

In addition to opposing the monitors, the clergy said they oppose the federal SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act that President Donald Trump and Republican leaders want to pass.

The bill would strengthen requirements for voters to prove citizenship and require photo ID. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday: “The big urgency is to get SAVE America passed. The president has that as a top priority, and so do I.” In Michigan, a Republican bill that's similar to the SAVE Act at the state level was passed by the state House in April, but is unlikely to get passed in the Democratic-led state Senate.

Republicans say the bills are needed to prevent voter fraud, but Democrats say they will make it more difficult for people to vote and reduce voter turnout, especially in minority, rural and lower-income areas.

"The Save Act will not save us," Anthony said. "It is a sham piece of legislation, which is really a Stop The Vote Act. The Michigan imitation of this same piece of bogus legislation is reflected in House Bill 4765. It is a fraud. It is designed to stop black and brown people, along with women and others, from exercising their constitutional rights. This bill is not about voter ID. It is a statement indicating that there are only certain kinds of voters that they really want to see."

Speaker Johnson has defended the legislation, saying there is nothing wrong with wanting "proof of citizenship and photo ID to vote. ... The only people that oppose it are people who want to cheat our system, who want to participate in our elections illegally, unlawfully.”

In Michigan, state Republicans agree with Johnson, saying there is a current danger of foreign nationals who are not citizens voting.

“Election integrity should not be controversial,” Rep. Jason Woolford, R-Howell, who introduced House Bill 4765, said in a statement in April. “As lawmakers, we owe it to the people of Michigan to guarantee that only U.S. citizens are voting. For too long, our elections have been vulnerable to interference."

Organizers of the event also criticized the Michigan Citizenship Verification and Voter Identification Initiative, a potential ballot proposal that proponents said is needed to prevent voter fraud, but opponents say will restrict voting by making it more difficult to cast absentee ballots by toughening proof of citizenship requirements.

Different faiths share similar message on voting

Several Muslim and Jewish leaders spoke at the press conference, drawing upon their faith traditions to preach that voting rights are a part of their beliefs.

"We affirm that every eligible citizen should be able to participate in our democracy freely, safely, and peacefully," Imam Mustapha Elturk, president of the Islamic Organization of North America, a Warren mosque, and co-chair of the Imams Council of Michigan. "We reject intimidation, coercion, threats, or unlawful interference that could prevent any illegal voter from exercising this fundamental civic responsibility."

The efforts in Michigan are echoed by a national effort by Faith in Us, a multi-faith advocacy group that wrote an open letter signed by more than 2,100 faith leaders in 44 states calling upon elected leaders to protect voter rights.

The Rev. Bob Alltop of Nativity Episcopal Church in Bloomfield Township also framed the struggle for voter rights in spiritual terms: "To undercut another citizen's right to vote is to diminish the dignity that God has bestowed on every human being."

Nonviolent resistance training for voter protection

Bill Wylie-Kellermann, a longtime activist who's a retired Methodist pastor formerly at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Detroit, decried "Christian nationalism," saying its views are part of what's driving attacks on voting rights. Wylie-Kellermann called for strategies to respond in case of federal agents attempting to curtail voting.

"I believe we all also must prepare for the possible occupation of selected public sites by armed and mass Homeland Security forces," he said. "Clergy and activists need to be trained in nonviolent de-escalation intervention and accompanying strategies."

During this talk, Wylie-Kellermann pointed to the back of the church, where one of the stained glass windows depicts an African American woman casting a vote into a box that reads "Ballot," symbolizing the importance of voting rights for minorities. Central United Methodist has a history of supporting civil rights activism over the decades.

On Saturday night, Fellowship Chapel will host an event to discuss ways to protect voters, Anthony said. And on July 13, there will be a Zoom call with Rev. Steve Bland Jr., senior pastor of Liberty Temple Baptist Church in Detroit, who's the former president of the Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and Vicinity, to work on "protection of the polls." Some Republicans have talked about having Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at polling sites.

"ICE will not intimidate us from voting," said Bland.

Nessel said that while federal monitors are allowed, they must follow the law and not trample on voter rights.

"My office stands ready to hold accountable those who attempt to unlawfully interfere with or intimidate Michigan election workers," Nessel said.

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