politics

In the Media

Leiser: possibility of state shutdown is difficult to predict

Sep 19, 2025 Midland Daily News

The likelihood of a shutdown is difficult to predict, said Stephanie Leiser, who leads the Michigan Local Government Fiscal Health Project at the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy and has worked as a tax policy analys...

Leiser: possibility of state shutdown is difficult to predict

News

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

Jan 28, 2024

The University of Michigan has published an experts guide to the 2024 elections. Ford School faculty are available to offer insights on relevant issues impacting the elections, including the following: Economics Betsey Stevenson, professor of pu...

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

News

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

Feb 16, 2023

Elected officials from local, county, and state government came to the Ford School to hear about the potential for collaborations with their offices and the School’s faculty, research centers, and students. Fifteen members of the Michigan State Se...

Ford School welcomes local and state elected officials to boost collaborative work

News

An assessment of Michigan's redistricting process

Dec 5, 2022

In the aftermath of the first election that used newly-drawn districts in Michigan, created by an independent citizen’s commission, the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy and the Program in Practical Policy Engagement hosted a Policy Talk to e...

An assessment of Michigan's redistricting process

News

The impact of Michigan’s redistricting efforts on the 2022 midterms

Nov 23, 2022

The results of the 2022 elections in Michigan were marked by a narrow Democratic sweep of all the major statewide offices and both houses of the state legislature. The election is also notable for its use of new districts that were drawn for the firs...

News

Michigan local leaders give high marks on the state of local democracy while federal outlook remains grim

Nov 16, 2022

Michigan local leaders are generally optimistic about how democracy is functioning in their jurisdictions, but are far less praiseworthy about the national picture, according to a new University of Michigan report. When asked to rate the functioni...

New law on data transparency will improve governance - Leiser

News

Ford School experts available for Michigan election 2022 analysis

Nov 3, 2022

The eyes of the country are on Michigan, as voters consider ballot initiatives on whether to enshrine abortion rights into the swing state's constitution and expand opportunities to vote. The highest offices in the state are also up for grabs, with G...

News

Former Michigan legislators overwhelmingly favor reforming or abolishing term limits

Nov 1, 2022

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, ...

Challenges continue for state-local relations, according to Michigan local government leaders

In the Media

Fair elections on the ballot - Ivacko

Oct 31, 2022 CBC

CBC: Tom Ivacko at the University of Michigan says the fair administration of elections is absolutely an election issue this fall. Yet it's unclear how many Americans care: Ivacko noted polls indicating that 70 per cent view democracy as under threat...

Tom Ivacko: Michigan - Political Redistricting

Publication

Local government officials offer mixed reviews to Michigan's new approach to redistricting

Oct 26, 2022

Local officials in Michigan have rendered a mixed verdict on the state's new constitutionally mandated approach to redrawing electoral maps with the goal of reducing gerrymandering and promoting fairer elections. Only 24% of local officials are sat...

Local government officials offer mixed reviews to Michigan's new approach to redistricting

Publication

Confidence in election security high, according to Michigan local government officials, disinformation causes concerns

Sep 22, 2022

Michigan township and city officials are now even more confident in their jurisdiction’s election security and ability to administer an accurate election than they were when asked a similar question in 2020, when confidence was already high, accordin...

News

"Democracy in Crisis" series taps award-winning journalists for insights

Sep 16, 2022

U.S. democratic institutions are under attack. While law enforcement agencies and a Congressional committee still work to investigate the January 6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol, a wave of subsequent efforts have continued to seek to undermine the no...

"Democracy in Crisis" series taps award-winning journalists for insights

News

More than half of Michigan local governments report personnel harassed, abused for doing their jobs

Sep 8, 2022

A majority of Michigan's local governments are experiencing some form of harassment or other abuse from the public, according to a statewide survey conducted by the University of Michigan. Officials from 53% of jurisdictions report harassment, thr...

The functioning of democracy at the local level

News

Ford School events for fall 2022 explore racial justice, international affairs, the state of democracy and more

Aug 30, 2022

The Ford School is pleased to announce an exciting lineup for the fall 2022 Policy Talks @ the Ford School series and other special public events hosted with partners from across campus. We are hosting distinguished policymakers, scholars, activists,...

Ford School events for fall 2022 explore racial justice, international affairs, the state of democracy and more

Publication

Local leaders' pessimism about Michigan's direction continues, eases slightly from last year

Jul 6, 2022

More than 60% of Michigan's local government leaders say the state has gotten off on the wrong track—down slightly from last year yet still among the most pessimistic responses since tracking began in 2011. According to those local leaders surveye...

News

2021: A year of public policy

Dec 16, 2021

The Ford School of Public Policy is a top-ranked public policy school dedicated to preparing diverse leaders to take on society’s most pressing challenges and make transformational discoveries through cutting-edge research. Experts from the Ford Scho...

News

Michigan local officials’ assessments of American democracy at the state and federal levels decline sharply

Nov 29, 2021

A survey of Michigan’s local government leaders shows a sharp degradation in trust in the functioning of democracy at the state and federal levels, echoing trends seen across the country. The Spring 2021 Michigan Public Policy Survey (MPPS), con...

Michigan local officials’ assessments of American democracy at the state and federal levels decline sharply

News

U-M expert on redistricting: The road back and ahead

Nov 16, 2021

The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (MICRC) is nearing the end of its work to draft new maps in an effort to end partisan gerrymandering. The mission was straightforward—use an independent commission instead of the state legi...

Redistricting Panel: Approved, and now voted on

News

Off the field, University of Michigan and Michigan State University work together on the big issues

Oct 28, 2021

When Michigan’s Independent Citizens’ Redistricting Commission (MICRC) held a public hearing recently in Grand Rapids, two students were assisting attendees with submitting citizen comments and suggestions for the Commission’s consideration. Working ...

Michigan State-Michigan collaboration to measure Partisan Advantage in redistricting

Publication

Michigan local economies still struggling with the pandemic effects

Sep 29, 2021

Michigan's local economies are still struggling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic but at a much lower rate than at the start of the crisis in spring 2020, according to a University of Michigan statewide survey of local government officials. ...

Michigan local economies still struggling with the pandemic effects

News

Ivacko: Challenges abound as leaders assemble for Mackinac Policy Conference

Sep 20, 2021

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 event. While the number of people ferryin...

Ivacko: Challenges abound as leaders assemble for Mackinac Policy Conference

In the Media

The new battleground races - Republicans and Democrats gear up for intense campaigns for state-level secretaries of state

Aug 19, 2021 World

U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga., has what must be considered a safe seat in Congress. In both 2018 and 2020, he won Georgia’s 10th Congressional District with more than 62 percent of the vote. But in 2022, Hice is giving up his House seat to run for a dif...

News

Most Michigan local leaders express confidence in safety, efficacy of COVID vaccines, MPPS shows

Aug 11, 2021

Most Michigan local government officials have been confident in the safety and efficacy of available COVID-19 vaccines, yet leaders' views on vaccine safety are highly correlated with partisanship, according to the spring 2021 wave of the Michigan Pu...

Most Michigan local leaders express confidence in safety, efficacy of COVID vaccines, MPPS shows

News

Congratulations to Natasha Pilkauskas and Kaitlin Raimi, both now associate professors, with tenure

May 21, 2021

Professors Natasha Pilkauskas and Kaitlin Raimi have received promotions to associate professor, with tenure, at the Ford School. Their status was approved by the U-M Board of Regents at their meeting on May 20. "Natasha Pilkauskas is deepening ou...

Congratulations to Natasha Pilkauskas and Kaitlin Raimi, both now associate professors, with tenure

In the Media

Hanson comments on risks of Line 5 pipeline

May 19, 2021 The Globe and Mail

For years, the Line 5 pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac has been a hot topic in Michigan politics. Jonathon Hanson, a Ford School lecturer, shed light on the potential consequences of continuing to allow the pipeline to exist. “You think abo...

Hanson comments on risks of Line 5 pipeline

In the Media

Chamberlin explains 'communities of interest' in Michigan redistricting process

Apr 20, 2021 Bridge Michigan

“The idea is to build districts that work for the citizens, and actually works for the representative,” Chamberlain said, adding that if a representative has a coherent district, it’s easier for them and their staff to actually serve their constituen...

Chamberlin explains 'communities of interest' in Michigan redistricting process

In the Media

Michigan's share of stimulus resources poses a welcome challenge, according to Leiser

Apr 8, 2021 Bridge Michigan

As the state of Michigan could receive as much as $10 billion from the Biden administration stimulus package, officials are planning how to allocate the resources in the best way. “It’s hard to exaggerate how big of a deal it is,” Brideg Michigan quo...

Stephanie Leiser: Helping local goverments in Michigan become healthier and more resilient

News

Michigan's redistricting effort makes slow but steady progress, despite delayed data, other challenges - Chamberlin

Feb 25, 2021

John Chamberlin, Ford School professor emeritus of political science and public policy, describes himself as a "redistricting junkie." Not unexpectedly, he possesses a keen interest in and understanding of the efforts under way to develop Michigan's ...

Chamberlin on lawmaker transparency and redistricting

In the Media

Rabe on climate politics: Democrats should look to Virginia and Colorado

Jan 27, 2021 The Brookings Institution

As Democrats take control of government at the federal level, albeit narrowly, Professor Barry Rabe writes that congressional Democrats should follow the lead of Colorado and Virginia -- two states with similarly narrow Democratic-controlled governme...

Rabe on climate politics: Democrats should look to Virginia and Colorado

News

Trust in government in a time of questioning: local governance leads the way

Dec 17, 2020

In a time of growing suspicion about the role of government at the state and national level, a good news story emerges when looking at local governance in Michigan. The conclusion of a new compendium study, The Functioning of Democracy: Insights from...