In November 2018, the citizens of Michigan passed Proposal 2, which amended the Michigan Constitution to place congressional and state legislative redistricting in the hands of a new Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC)...
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....
By Tom Ivacko (MPA ’93), executive director, Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
A new policy brief presents Michigan local government leaders’ experiences with public harassment, threats, or even violence as part of their role in local government. These findings are based on statewide surveys of local government leaders in the...
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...
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...
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 ...
An unceasing stream of social media posts and statements recently from both well-known and low-profile Michigan Republicans promoting radical actions by their followers are prompting accusations of racism and violence. The rhetoric and its purveyors...
It should matter little to the Chinese that American diplomats and a handful of their western allies will not be attending the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. What truly matters is that the Russians are...
It should matter little to the Chinese that American diplomats and a handful of their western allies will not be attending the Beijing Winter Olympics in February. What truly matters is that the Russians are...
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. In addition, it looks at local leaders’ assessments of...
While Michigan local officials continue to express confidence in democracy's functioning in their own backyards, their confidence in democracy in the state and country has withered significantly over the past year, according to a...
