By Dennis Archer, Jr. – Chairman & CEO, sixteen42 ventures
Colleagues & Friends,
A few weeks before the general election, a dear friend of mine, a prominent Detroit corporate leader, received an invitation to a fundraiser at my home for one of this season’s candidates.
This friend texted me to say they were disappointed that I was supporting that candidate. So we got on the phone. They walked me through their position, and I found it very well rooted and defensible. I didn’t change their mind, and they didn’t change mine. We agreed to disagree, and we hung up as friends.
Ultimately, isn’t that what democracy is about: the ability to freely share disparate views at the table, and to stand up and walk away more aware of what we have in common, embracing and allowing those things to be foundational, while respecting others’
views?
Days before the election, rain was predicted, but Tuesday came, and it was sunny; and on
November 1 we got a late October surprise. Notwithstanding, Michigan experienced record
turnout. The electorate proved to be informed, educated, savvy, and astute.
According to unofficial results, more than 4.8 million Michiganders cast a ballot, a new record for a midterm election, topping the 4.5 million who voted in 2022 and the 4.34 million in 2018. More than 2.6 million of those ballots were cast before Election Day, including more than 750,000 at early voting sites. And more than 15,600 Michiganders registered and voted on the same day. The turnout reached every corner of our state, including 210,000 Detroiters, up from approximately 173,000 in the last midterm.
Perhaps most exciting was young people’s impact. At the University of Michigan’s two campus voting hubs, 2,668 people registered and voted on the same day. That is the most since Michigan approved same-day registration in 2018, and it eclipses the 1,292 who did so in 2024’s presidential election. Thousands more students voted early. Nationally, 8% more 18- and 19-year-olds were registered to vote than at the same point before the last midterm. An astounding number of college students and first-time voters chose to get involved in this election. Among them are our future employees, entrepreneurs, and business leaders. They have made known their presence at the table.
Across the country, the story was the same. Before the polls even opened on Tuesday, more than 54 million Americans had already voted early. And the country made history up and down the ballot: Keisha Lance Bottoms, Gina Hinojosa, Deb Haaland, Peggy Flanagan, Chris Pappas, Byron Donalds, and, of course, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed. It says we are a country of many voices,and every one of them counts.
If your positions prevailed, now is not the time to gloat. Rather, now is the time to be humble. Now is the time to welcome those who were on opposing sides to sit with you. Now is the time to invite those who were vocally attacking your position to come to the table and explain their opinions in a non-adversarial environment. All so that we can collectively get our country on a productive path, moving us forward for the generations to follow.
I am asking you to remain impassioned and involved. Volunteer on a transition team to make sure the promises of this campaign become the work of governing and that that work is inclusive.
I am also asking you to do what my friend and I did: reach out to someone with whom you had a political dispute this season, whether a friend, a neighbor, or a colleague. Pick up the phone, talk about the season calmly, looking for common ground, because it exists. Most of us want the same things: for our businesses, to compete, access the markets, and grow fairly; and for our families, good jobs, safe neighborhoods and schools, and a doctor we can afford.
It is clear: we can no longer exclude anyone from the process. Everyone should be welcomed.
We are going to have to make the proverbial table bigger, more accommodating, because there are now more people with a seat at the table than there were seats on Monday evening.
Warmest regards,
Dennis
Chairman and CEO
sixteen42 ventures
