Democracy

Michigan Redistricting Project

In 2018, Michigan voters approved a ballot initiative that moved responsibility for drawing Michigan's congressional and state legislative districts from the Michigan Legislature to a newly-formed bipartisan Michigan Independent Citizens Redistrictin...

News

CLOSUP marks 25 years at Lansing anniversary event

Apr 17, 2026

On April 15, 2026, the Ford School's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) celebrated a quarter century of impact. Approximately 75 current and former CLOSUP directors, staff, students, collaborators, and state legislators gathered in La...

CLOSUP marks 25 years at anniversary event

Policy Matters

To shore up American democracy, look to city hall

Nov 20, 2025

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 ...

To shore up American democracy, look to city hall

News

Trust falls among Michigan’s local officials that residents can be responsible partners in policymaking

Nov 19, 2025

The trust Michigan's local leaders have that the residents they serve can responsibly participate in the policymaking process has eroded to alarmingly low levels. Further, the officials' assessments of the tone of civil discourse among residents has ...

Concerns about elected officials’ budgeting expertise emerges from survey of Michigan community leaders

In the Media

A guide to Washtenaw County proposals

Nov 4, 2024 Read more

This election cycle, Washtenaw County voters will decide whether to approve ballot proposals regarding tax funding of emergency communications systems, veterans relief, senior services and mental health services. The Michigan Daily interviewed Stepha...

Publication

The functioning of democracy at the local level

Oct 29, 2024

The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) has released a new resource that summarizes Michigan local government leaders' views on democracy and democratic governance. The findings come from the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), a pr...

The functioning of democracy at the local level

Publication

Fewer local leaders in Michigan feeling positive about how democracy is functioning in state, U.S.

Aug 15, 2024

Local leaders in Michigan are slightly less optimistic in their views on the health of democracy at the state and national levels, according to an ongoing survey by the University of Michigan. Although assessments of civic health at the national leve...

Fewer local leaders in Michigan feeling positive about how democracy is functioning in state, U.S.

CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Policy Brief: Michigan local government leaders’ concerns about the health of democracy edge upward, including at local level

Aug 14, 2024

A new MPPS policy brief presents the views of Michigan’s local government leaders on a variety of issues across the state for their assessments of American democracy as a system of government, based on factors like free and fair elections, rule of la...

MPPS in the news

CRYSTAL LAKE Township supervisor views property destruction as political attack

May 24, 2024 Traverse City Record-Eagle

A township official embroiled in a federal lawsuit was the victim of malicious destruction of property after someone threw rocks containing a religious message through her house entry doors shattering glass.

News

Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of democratic functioning improve from 2021 low, but first signs of trouble at local level emerge

Dec 11, 2023

Michigan local leaders’ assessments of democracy at the national level have improved marginally for two years in a row after a sharp decline in 2021, largely due to fewer local officials rating American democracy as poorly functioning. Similarly, the...

Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of democratic functioning improve from 2021 low, but first signs of trouble at local level emerge

CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Policy Brief: Michigan local government leaders’ assessments of democratic functioning improve from 2021 low, but first signs of trouble at local level emerge

Dec 6, 2023

A new policy brief presents the views of Michigan's local government leaders regarding the functioning of democracy in their jurisdictions, across the State of Michigan, and across the United States as a whole. These findings are based on statewide s...

CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Policy Brief: Despite two-year trend of improvement, most Michigan local officials continue to say the state is on the wrong track

May 17, 2023

A new policy brief presents the opinions of Michigan’s local government leaders regarding the direction in which the state is headed, as well as their evaluations of the job performance of Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Legislature. These...

State & Hill

Think local: CLOSUP checks in with local government officials

Dec 19, 2022

Democracy in the United States and across the globe has been in decline for years, as documented with rigorous tracking methodologies. Freedom House has tracked declines in civil liberties and political rights in the U.S., for example. And the Democr...

Building tech to support small towns: U-M team develops digital tool for SEC compliance

MPPS in the news

Report highlights perspectives on democracy, fiscal health among Michigan administrators

Dec 14, 2022 American City and Country

Politically driven incidents over the last few years at all levels of government have fundamentally shaken public perception about the health of America’s democracy. Administrators have likewise been impacted. A new study from the University of Michi...

In the Media

A retrospect on the new redistricting process for Michigan voters

Dec 7, 2022 The Michigan Daily

On Nov. 30th, the Ford School of Public Policy held an event to discuss Michigan’s new citizen-led redistricting process and its impacts on the midterm election, the first election since new lines were drawn in December 2021. The meeting was moderate...

MPPS in the news

Report: Local Gov't Officials Still Concerned About State Of Democracy

Nov 23, 2022 Gongwer News Service

The state of local democracy is not in jeopardy in the eyes of officials across Michigan, however there is still much concern for the stability of democracy at the state and federal levels according to a report from the University of Michigan's Publi...

CLOSUP Updates

MPPS Report: Michigan local leaders’ concerns about U.S. democracy at state and federal levels ease somewhat, but remain grim

Nov 16, 2022

A new report presents local government leaders’ views regarding the functioning of democracy in their jurisdictions, the State of Michigan, and the United States as a whole. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in...

In the Media

Fact check: False claim Michigan's Proposal 2 would allow felons to vote from prison

Nov 7, 2022 USA Today

Voters around the country will be making decisions on an array of candidates and issues in the 2022 midterm election on Nov. 8. One viral Instagram post urges Michigan voters to vote against a ballot proposal that it characterized as a threat to elec...

In the Media

Former Legislators Back Term Limits Changes

Nov 2, 2022 Gongwer

A survey of 110 former legislators shows overwhelming support for changing or abolishing term limits. The survey, which was conducted in 2020 and 2021 by Rusty Hills, a longtime Republican strategist now a lecturer at the University of Michigan Ford ...

In the Media

Former legislators broadly favor reforming or ending term limits

Nov 2, 2022 University Record

As voters in Michigan consider a ballot measure to change the state’s legislative term limits, a survey of former legislators shows overwhelming support for reforming or abolishing the limits. The survey, conducted in 2020 and 2021 by Rusty Hills, a ...

In the Media

Meet the election deniers on the cusp of controlling U.S. elections

Oct 31, 2022 CBC

Let's try imagining what the next U.S. presidential election might look like. It's 2024. It's been a bitter, hard-fought campaign. Votes are being counted.

MPPS in the news

Whitmer, Dixon race nears finish line; GOP entering midterms with cash edge: Your guide to Michigan politics

Oct 30, 2022 Mlive.com

While you’d be excused for thinking that political news only happened at the state level this week, there was no shortage of other interesting political headlines. That includes Republican Sen. Ed McBroom giving an at-length speech on the dangers of ...

MPPS in the news

Despite political tension, relationships with Michigan’s local officials remain civil, study finds

Oct 27, 2022 Mlive.com

A new study revealed that relationships amongst local government officials in Michigan, as well as between local officials and residents, have remained relatively stable despite polarizing politics at the state and national level.

MPPS in the news

Despite political tension, relationships with Michigan’s local officials remain civil, study finds

Oct 27, 2022 AnnArbor.com

CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Policy Brief: Local government officials give mixed reviews to Michigan’s new approach to redistricting

Oct 26, 2022

A new policy brief presents the opinions of Michigan local government leaders on Michigan’s new approach to electoral redistricting and the performance of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC). These findings are based on...

A blue map of Michigan layered over a blue neighborhood map

MPPS in the news

Commentary: Political violence has no place in our elections

Oct 24, 2022 Crain's Detroit Business

Elections are contentious, but in recent years they have gotten uglier, with the rise in political violence polluting our democracy.

MPPS in the news

Despite Harassment, Local Officials Positive About Political Discourse

Oct 12, 2022 Gongwer (subscription required)

Although the tone of political discourse seems increasingly hostile, a new survey from the University of Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy suggests that things might not be as bad as they seem. The results of the Michigan Public Polic...

CLOSUP Updates

MPPS Report: Michigan local government leaders say civic relationships and civil discourse remain healthy, despite worsening national politics

Oct 12, 2022

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...

MPPS in the news

Like democracy, election workers are under assault with many fearing for the future

Sep 15, 2022 Michigan Advance

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.

MPPS in the news

Nearly Half Of Top Local Officials Have Been Harassed, Survey Finds

Sep 12, 2022 Gongwer.com (subscription required)

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.