Distrust in the political system is the most commonly cited reason that eligible voters in Detroit say they don't plan to vote in November, according to a University of Michigan survey.The survey, fielded by U-M's Detroit Metro Area Communities...
University of Michigan experts are available to discuss President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the presidential race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris—and the ramifications on the political landscape.Jenna Bednar, faculty director of...
Reilly is one of 175 college students recognized for their nonpartisan democratic engagement work in 2022.
Today, the University of Michigan and the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) announced that Ford School junior Rose Reilly (BA ‘24)...
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...
Ford School alumni and students played a key part in upholding democracy during the 2022 midterms—running for office, knocking on doors, and working at polling stations, up and down the ballot, across Michigan and around the country.
Several...
New Ford School Towsley Foundation Policymaker in Residence Judge Laurel Beatty Blunt is a distinguished litigator, legal expert, and public servant. After serving many years as a litigator and judge, in 2018, Judge Beatty Blunt became the first...
French President Emmanuel Macron has won his re-election bid, defeating far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Charlotte Cavaillé, assistant professor of public policy, provided some insight into the election.
"So there are two reasons (turnout was...
Michigan gubernatorial candidate Garrett Soldano has been circulating the conspiracy theory that the intended kidnapping of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was a government plot to sway the 2020 election. Javed Ali, associate professor of practice, debunked...
Ahead of the Michigan Republican Party’s endorsement convention this month, Michigan GOP Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock has endorsed several candidates, an unusual move. Joe Schwarz, lecturer and former Michigan state senator, weighed in on the...
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is preparing for the 2022 election. So far, her Republican opponents don't seem viable based on their extreme views.
“If the GOP nominates QAnon conspiracy theorists, Benson will have an easier path...
Many companies that pledged to stop donating to politicians who rejected the 2020 election results have resumed those donations. But, Richard Hall, professor of public policy and political science, says the way they've resumed is unusual.
"I...
Voter turnout among University of Michigan college students jumped to 78% in the 2020 election, according to a report released by the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education at Tufts University.
Up 18 percentage points from 60% in 2016, U-M...
At a time when democratic institutions are under pressure and the University of Michigan community is looking to engage, U-M will continue Democracy & Debate, its university-wide collaboration on democratic engagement, through the 2021-22 academic...
The Michigan Republican Party is struggling to define itself in the shadow of former President Donald Trump. Some members want to cling to Trump and his rhetoric, while others are trying to distance themselves. Charles Shipan, the J. Ira and Nicki...
"Think of [ranked-choice voting] like choosing items in everyday routines, like ordering a slice of pizza," said John Chamberlin, who specializes in voting systems. "All it takes is a little planning before entering the voting booth. And sometimes...
"The Michigan Senate race is one of the few opportunities that the Republicans have to pick up a Senate seat...Although most polls show Peters with a narrow lead, that lead is within the margin of error, and there are a lot of undecided voters,"...
Mara Ostfeld recently joined the Ford School of Public Policy as faculty by courtesy, adding to her faculty roles at the Center for Political Studies at the Institute for Social Research and at LSA Political Science. It is a return to the Ford...
Ford School students in former Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje’s classes are preparing to host a two-part spring forum for prospective Ann Arbor City Council candidates. Students from the Ford School have hosted similar forums since 2014, but this year...
The midterm elections proved 2018 to be the year of the underdog. Michigan saw its fair share of history-making candidate and ballot proposal victories, with one that will have a particularly profound impact on the state’s political future. The...
The 2018 midterm elections set an unprecedented amount of campaign spending, with one cause taking a surprising lead. In their November 5, 2018, article in E&E News titled “4 States Have Ballot Measures That Could Shape U.S. Climate Policy,”...
The new Michigan Minds series, launched this month with Edie Goldenberg, Ford School professor, talking about the importance of students voting in the midterm election. The podcast and video series aim to provide “quick and informative analysis on...
On October 28th, right-wing populism added another presidential office to its ranks with the victory of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. Per protocol, President Trump called his new fellow head of state and offered his congratulations—the first step to...
With Michigan’s upcoming election, commentary around the ballot’s Proposal 2, which would establish a citizen’s commission responsible for creating voting district lines, has run the gamut. In the October 10, 2018, piece for Bridge titled “5...
Younger voters are showing an interest in the upcoming midterm election, reports Jorge Avellan for WEMU in an October 4, 2018 news story “November General Election 2018: Exploring The Potential Impact Of The Youth Vote In Washtenaw County.”Only 14...
Melvyn Levitsky makes an appearance in Paul D. Shinkman's March 19 article on “The consequences of Putin’s victory” in U.S. News and World Report.
Following Vladimir Putin’s win in the Russian presidential election, Shinkman writes, “[I]t’s yet...
In the last midterm election, just 14 percent of students at the University of Michigan cast a ballot.
The shockingly low figure “was a wake-up call,” Edie Goldenberg tells Farah Stockman in the March 3 New York Times article: “How college...
“You want people who are capable of understanding pretty big numbers, and understanding what the tradeoffs are, what’s a good risk and what’s not," says John Chamberlin of a recent investigation of Detroit school board candidates that found that...
The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) hosted the four declared candidates in Ann Arbor's mayoral race on Wednesday, April 16. The forum focused on the future of public transportation and prospects for economic development of Ann...
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.
