LANSING, MI -- The Michigan Democratic Party is building an army to prevent voter suppression in 2020 elections.

The state party created a full-time voter protection director position for Erica Peresman, a lawyer, longtime advocate for voter rights and a leader in the 2018 effort to pass a ballot initiative changing state voting laws. The effort is aligned with a national voter rights initiative launched by former Georgia state Rep. Stacey Abrams to crack down on voter suppression tactics.

Peresman said she wants to hire 2,000 poll challengers to monitor the election process in Michigan’s 1,520 cities and townships. Before the election, she’s embarking on a public education effort to notify voters of changes created by the adoption of Proposal 3.

“What I want people to know is that we’re going to be watching,” she said. “In addition to the public education part of it, I am going to be recruiting more people so that we can have challengers in many more precincts and we are going to be watching to make sure that eligible voters get to cast ballots that count."

Peresman’s new role is part of a larger effort to ramp up staffing in the Michigan Democratic Party before the presidential primary election. A full-time digital organizer and full-time African American outreach director were also hired, and state party Chairwoman Lavora Barnes plans to dispatch more than 100 organizers to 50 statewide offices next year.

Barnes, who ran former President Barack Obama’s 2012 Michigan reelection campaign, said the goal is to build a stronger, more permanent political machine to hit the ground running when the party chooses its presidential nominee. The organizing effort is based on lessons learned from Hillary Clinton’s surprise loss in 2016.

A major component of that mission is to inform voters about changes to the Michigan Constitution adopted when voters overwhelmingly approved Proposal 3 in 2018. Nearly 67% of Michiganders voted in support of sweeping changes in voting policies including:

Automatically registers people to vote when they obtain or renew their driver’s license or state identification card, as long as they are a U.S. citizen and age 18 or older

Allows people to register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day, including on Election Day.

Allows voters to obtain an absentee ballot without providing a reason. Absentee balloting was previously limited to people who are age 60 and older, disabled, poll workers or those who sign an affidavit saying they will be out of town on Election Day.

Reinstates the option of a straight-ticket vote for all candidates of a particular political party by marking one spot on the ballot.

Peresman volunteered as a poll challenger for the Michigan Democratic Party since 2000. A voting rights director position existed before, but the person was typically hired only a few months before an election and ended their duties after an election. The expanded position allows Peresman to recruit more volunteers earlier.

“We’ve made a huge change in Michigan, we have really made it much more accessible for people to vote, assuming that everyone knows about it and the laws are properly implemented at the local level throughout the state,” she said.

Under state law, poll challengers are appointed by political parties and qualified organizations to monitor the election process at local polling places and safeguard against election fraud. That includes challenging the actions of poll workers serving in the precinct if the challenger believes election law is not being followed.

Peresman said one of the most common examples of voting rights issues on Election Day has to do with voter identification.

By law, every Michigan voter must present picture identification at the polls or sign an affidavit attesting that he or she is not in possession of picture identification. The affidavit option means you don’t need a photo ID to vote.

“That has been in place since 2007 and yet every election, there are poll workers who are insisting that people have to have photo ID and not offering them the opportunity to sign that affidavit," Peresman said. “We still have difficulty with enforcing that law. It might be a training issue and in some cases it might be the person who is charged with doing that job doesn’t agree with the law, and thinks people shouldn’t be allowed to vote.”

The Birmingham resident said her first experience as a poll challenger in Pontiac showed how even disorganization in polling places can discourage residents from voting, particularly people with inflexible work schedules.

"There was just mass chaos in this polling place and I could see people were leaving without voting because they had places to go,' she said. “When I went to my polling place there was never a line. Neither was I worried that my pay would be reduced if I missed an hour or two or work.”

Michigan’s 2016 presidential outcome was determined by just 10,700 votes, with Democrats facing lower turnout in its urban strongholds. Democratic primary contender Cory Booker blamed Republicans and Russians for suppressing African American turnout during a debate in Detroit, saying Michigan swung red due to an “assault” on black voters.

Peresman said it’s not clear that voter suppression changed the outcome of the 2016 election, but said things could have gone differently if Proposal 3 was in effect back then.

Peresman said communities of color, students and other groups have been disproportionately affected by Michigan’s previous voting system. Regardless of whether it was a deliberate attempt to suppress votes in those communities, she said the practical effect on turnout was obvious each year.

“Whenever you increase access to the ballot you increase turnout,” she said. “We can’t say for sure what would have happened if more people would have voted, but there is definitely analysis that suggests if Democratic turnout had been higher in Michigan that Trump would not have won Michigan.”

During the July debates, the DNC held an event for Seat at the Table, a program to engage African American women. The DNC also established a website, IWillVote.com, to help citizens easily determine whether they are registered to vote.

Peresman said the MDP also met with members of Abrams’ Fair Fight 2020, a program to educate voters and advocate for election reforms in 20 states. It’s yet to be determine how the partnership will look, but the organization pledges to fund, and train voter protection teams in battleground states across America.

The multi-million-dollar program will partner with state Democratic parties to develop voter protection infrastructure before a presidential nominee is chosen.

State law allows both parties to appoint poll challengers. Though Peresman wants to bring an army of volunteer lawyers to polling places, she said the Democratic Party isn’t out to disenfranchise Republicans.

“I think all of us, no matter what my party affiliation want our elections to be run according to our laws,” Peresman said. “I don’t view that as a partisan issue.”