Following the passage of Proposition 18-3 (“Promote the Vote”) in Michigan in 2018, the Ann Arbor City Clerk’s Office began making plans to expand voter registration and absentee ballot opportunities for the 2020 election cycle, particularly with the more than 40,000 students at the University of Michigan.

A November 2019 resolution of council directed the city administrator to make funding available in the city clerk budget to provide for expanded hours and an additional “satellite” office.

“At this time, I began working with the government relations official at the University of Michigan to secure a location on campus,” City Clerk Jacqueline Beaudry explained. “Fortunately, in our situation, relationships were already in place between the city clerk’s office and those on campus involved in voter outreach efforts.”

Meanwhile, at the University of Michigan Stamps School of Art & Design professors Stephanie Rowden and Hannah Smotrich were ramping up with Creative Campus Voting Project.

“The idea originated at the serendipitous intersection of several conversations across campus about student voter engagement,” Rowden and Smotrich explained. “As we were talking with Edie [Goldenberg (Political Science, Public Policy; and faculty advisor for the student org Turn Up Turnout)] about the best site for the satellite office, we were also in conversation with our partners at UMMA (University of Michigan Museum of Art) about building on our 2018 collaboration. We learned that due to Covid-19 UMMA’s beautiful, glassed-in gallery in the center of campus wouldn’t be used and — the lightbulb moment! — the idea of a satellite city clerk’s office in a gallery was born. Given our focus on using art and design to clarify and make the voting process more visible, the venue could not have been more fitting and the project aligned beautifully with UMMA’s commitment to foster civic engagement.”