Democracy

MPPS in the news

Nearly half of top local Michigan officials say they've been harassed, UM survey says

Sep 8, 2022 The Detroit News

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 ...

CLOSUP Updates

New MPPS Policy Brief: Statewide survey finds a majority of Michigan local governments experiencing harassment or other abuse

Sep 8, 2022

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...

In the Media

Analysis: Michigan GOP lawmakers silent as party leader, others spread incendiary rhetoric

Feb 10, 2022 Detroit Free Press

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...

MPPS in the news

The Russians Are Coming: Are Beijing And Moscow At The Cusp Of A Formal Alliance?

Feb 3, 2022 Scoop NZ

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...

MPPS in the news

The Russians are coming: Are Beijing and Moscow at the cusp of a formal alliance?

Jan 31, 2022 Middle East Monitor

CLOSUP Updates

MPPS Report: Michigan local leaders report little change in the tone of civic discourse in their communities, but are concerned about local impacts of increasingly hostile national partisan politics

Jan 26, 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. In addition, it looks at local leaders’ assessments of...

MPPS in the news

Mich. local officials' confidence in democracy in the state and country wanes, survey finds

Nov 20, 2021 Yahoo! News

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...

MPPS in the news

Mich. local officials' confidence in democracy in the state and country wanes, survey finds

Nov 20, 2021 Holland Sentinel

MPPS in the news

Mich. local officials' confidence in democracy in the state and country wanes, survey finds

Nov 20, 2021 Cheboygan Daily Tribune

MPPS in the news

Mich. local officials' confidence in democracy in the state and country wanes, survey finds

Nov 18, 2021 Detroit Free Press

CLOSUP Updates

MPPS Report: Michigan local officials' assessments of American democracy at the state and federal levels decline sharply

Nov 17, 2021

A new report from the Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS) presents local government leaders’ views regarding the functioning of democracy in their jurisdictions, the State of Michigan, and the United States as a whole, as well as their confidence...

MPPS in the news

U-M expert: Challenges abound as leaders assemble for Mackinac Policy Conference

Sep 20, 2021 Michigan News, University of Michigan

Many of Michigan’s business, political and academic movers and shakers are gathering this week for the annual Mackinac Policy Conference after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of last year’s...

State & Hill

Breaking down public trust

Jun 10, 2021

By Rebecca Cohen (MPP '09)Americans’ trust in government institutions to “do the right thing” has steadily eroded since the late 1960s,1 correlated for many analysts with events such as the Vietnam War, Watergate, the ’70s oil embargo, and President...

CLOSUP Updates

New Report: The functioning of democracy at the local level: a compendium of findings from the Michigan Public Policy Survey of local leaders

Dec 4, 2020

The Ford School’s 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...

CLOSUP Updates

Virtual Event: The Functioning of Democracy across the Urban-Rural Spectrum

Nov 3, 2020

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...

CLOSUP Updates

MPPS Report: Michigan local leaders say local democracy is strong, as their trust in government and citizens rises

Oct 27, 2020

This 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, as well as their levels of trust toward the federal, state, and other local...

CLOSUP Updates

MPPS Report: Michigan local leaders expect increased challenges for the 2020 election, but are confident about administering accurate elections

Oct 5, 2020

This report presents the opinions of Michigan’s township and city officials on issues related to election administration in their jurisdictions, including expected challenges and confidence in election security. Data from a parallel survey of...

CLOSUP Updates

Report: The Role of Communities of Interest in Michigan's New Approach to Redistricting: Recommendations to the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission

Sep 14, 2020

The Role of Communities of Interest in Michigan's New Approach to Redistricting: Recommendations to the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. See the report...

Coverpage of Communities of Interest Policy Report

In the Media

Wisconsin Professor holds lecture on importance of dialogue to address urban-rural divide

Oct 24, 2019 The Michigan Daily

About 100 people gathered in Weill Hall on Wednesday afternoon to hear Kathy Cramer, professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, tell stories from her research on the exclusion of rural voices in political discussions. The...

MPPS in the news

'We got to know each other as humans'

Feb 21, 2019 The Cadillac News

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MPPS in the news

Will the National Partisan Breakdown Infect Our Communities?

Jan 7, 2019 Governing Magazine

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MPPS in the news

Study: discourse mostly constructive in local govs

Dec 23, 2018 Boyne City Gazaette

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In the Media

Ford School panel considers impacts, logistics of November ballot initiatives

Oct 8, 2018 The Michigan Daily

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Conversations Across Differences

Restoring confidence in our democracy

Jan 12, 2023, 4:00-5:30 pm EST

Weill Hall, Annenberg Auditorium (1120)

Join us for a conversation hosted at the Ford School by The Carter Center and the Gerald R. Ford Foundation that tackles how to buttress voter confidence in our democracy. Former Michigan U.S. Representatives Andy Levin (D-MI) and Peter Meijer (R-MI) and Amb (ret) Susan D. Page, Michigan Law and Ford School professor from practice and Carter Center trustee, will explore the bipartisan challenge of restoring faith in our democratic systems and highlight ways individuals can be part of the solution as we work together to uphold the standards of our democracy.

MPPS

The functioning of democracy at the local level: a compendium of findings from the Michigan Public Policy Survey of local leaders

October 28, 2024

Student Working Papers

For What It's Worth

October 16, 2024

Katelyn Jasmin, University of Michigan

The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a fairly secluded place. It’s almost like its own world, often feeling detached from the rest of the country and even from the Lower Peninsula of the same state. We’re so under the radar that non-Michiganders can...

Policy Reports

Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) Memo #3 — Recommendations for Managing and Analyzing Public Input in Future Rounds of Michigan Redistricting

September 23, 2024

Tom Ivacko, Edward Plaut, Danielle Hamer, Elizabeth Gelman

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....

Policy Reports

Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) Memo #2 — Final Analysis of Public Comments on 2024 Remediated Senate Maps in Southeast Michigan

August 21, 2024

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...

MPPS

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

August 14, 2024

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...

Policy Reports

Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) Memo #1 — Initial Analysis of Public Comments on 2024 Remediated Senate Maps in Southeast Michigan

May 20, 2024

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...