Recent years have seen increasing concerns over the state of democracy in the US, with a majority of Americans believing it to be under threat. Using data from an annual survey, Stephanie Leiser, Debra Horner, and Natalie Fitzpatrick find that local ...
A new MPPS report presents Michigan local government leaders’ trust in their residents and their assessments of the tone of discussion in local politics, as well as their views regarding the overall functioning of democracy in their jurisdictions. Th...
From voicemail to email, social media to snail mail—even bulletin boards in public places—there’s no lack of newfangled and old-school ways for local leaders to reach residents in their communities. Still, officials across Michigan report alarming de...
A new Facebook group emerged this summer, promising to expose alleged corruption in Monroe County’s largest suburb. Even weeks before a lawsuit was filed accusing the Greece town supervisor of an unpaid labor scheme, people were asking an exceedingly...
A new report presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the state of public discourse in their communities, including how constructive or divisive it is, as well as their assessments of civic relationships among elected of...
They are considered “essential” to ensuring the success of elections, and yet almost a third of election workers are believed to have left their job at least in part because of fears for their safety, increased threats or intimidation.
Nearly half of top officials in local government across the state reported harassment during the last few years, a survey conducted by the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy shows.
According to a statewide survey conducted by the University of Michigan, the majority of Michigan local governments experience some form of harassment or other abuse from the public.
Nearly half of top officials in local governments across Michigan have reported being harassed in recent years, according to a survey by the University of Michigan released Thursday.
Delta Township Clerk Mary Clark thought it'd be a good idea to invite her community to have a conversation about how elections work. The veteran elections official wanted to walk through how voting apparatuses are operated, broadly explain security a...
There is much talk, especially in recent years, about the urban-rural divide: the idea that people from urban and rural places think fundamentally differently about a whole range of policy issues, and about governance itself. This semester, Ford Scho...
Abstract
This report presents the experiences and opinions of Michigan’s local government clerks and other city and township leaders regarding three statewide voting and election reforms: 1) voter registration up to 15 days before an election via...
Mary Morgan, executive director of the CivCity Initiative, joined WEMU’s David Fair this Monday for an on-air discussion of local civic engagement. Among the topics discussed: New findings from the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), a biannual sur...
At a time when many of us are concerned about the strength of democracy in the U.S. and around the world, CLOSUP's research tells us that democracy remains strongest at the local level. Every day, in jurisdictions across the state, local officials interact with residents to help determine community priorities, allocate funds for services, hear complaints and resolve disputes, register voters, and much more.
This report presents Michigan local government leaders’ trust in their residents and their assessments of the tone of discussion in local politics, as well as their views regarding the overall functioning of democracy in their jurisdictions. These fi...
This report presents the views of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding resident engagement with their local governments, including assessments of the opportunities their local governments provide for engagement, residents’ overall levels of ...
Many lessons were learned by Michigan’s commissioners and their staff throughout theinaugural redistricting process utilizing the state’s new approach to redistricting via the MICRC,most of which have been documented in the Commission’s original “les...
This memo provides a comprehensive analysis of the CLOSUP team’s work in assisting the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) in the analysis of public comments submitted during the 2024 Senate Mapping Redistricting process. T...
Tom Ivacko, Elizabeth Gelman, Danielle Hamer, Edward Plaut, University of Michigan
This brief provides a review of CLOSUP analysis of public comments submitted to the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) in spring 2024 as part of the effort to draw new maps in Southeast Michigan as directed by a federal co...
Since 2020, the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) has asked local government leaders across the state for their assessments of American democracy as a system of government, based on factors like free and fair elections, rule of law, an unbiased fr...
Tom Ivacko, Elizabeth Gelman, Danielle Hamer, Edward Plaut, University of Michigan
This memo provides an initial summary of CLOSUP analysis of public comments submitted to the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) in spring 2024 as part of the effort to draw new maps in Southeast Michigan as directed by a f...
