Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer | Photo Courtesy of Michigan
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer | Photo Courtesy of Michigan
In the quest to gain information to start large-scale volunteer contact tracing and expand COVID-19 testing criteria, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer contracted software from Every Action—a company that on its website says it focuses its information gathering efforts for Democratic and progressive campaigns, nonprofits and municipalities.
It is the political affiliation of Every Action’s parent group, NGP VAN, that has caught people’s attention. Twitter user Jordan Schachtel pointed this out in a tweet April 21, linking to the state’s announcement of the contact tracing effort.
“Gov. Whitmer is contracting an exclusively partisan Democratic political firm [Every Action VAN. Look up NGP VAN, its parent company] to do contact tracing of Michigan residents" Schachtel wrote. "Major scandal in plain sight. Akin to putting the DNC in charge.”
The state makes no mention of Every Action’s parent company in the news release but does explain and tout the power of contact tracing.
“Contact tracing is a proven public health strategy that involves identifying those affected by COVID-19 and interviewing friends, families and others near that person about their contacts and symptoms. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services [MDHHS] is contracting with Great Lakes Community Engagement, a firm that specializes in outreach campaigns to engage citizens, and Every Action VAN, a voter/individual contact platform used by non-profits, to provide software to help organize remote phone banking and track information and contacts,” the state wrote in the news release issued April 20.
The state notes that more than 2,200 individuals have completed the contact tracing training through MDHHS and are ready to help local health departments in an effort to increase the speed and thoroughness of contact tracing throughout the state.
“These volunteers are in addition to more than 130 MDHHS staff who have been assisting local health departments with case investigation over the past couple weeks and have reached more than 12,000 COVID-positive individuals,” the news release said.
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