Ann Arbor Times

Local leaders in Michigan are slightly less optimistic about the health of democracy at both state and national levels, according to an ongoing survey by the University of Michigan.

Although assessments of civic health at the national level improved marginally from 2021-23, the Michigan Public Policy Survey finds this year’s ratings of “poor” have increased—from 60% in 2023 to 65% this year. Only 11% of local leaders currently say U.S. democracy is functioning at a “high” level, with a quarter of self-identified Democrats saying it’s currently high functioning and other groups significantly more pessimistic.

Assessments of how democracy is functioning at the state level in Michigan have also declined slightly this year among all groups except for self-identified independents. Overall, the percentage of respondents who consider democracy to be high-functioning in the state dipped slightly from 30% last year to 28% this year, and the percentage who view it as poor rose from 35% to 38% during the same period.

“Local government leaders have been generally pessimistic about civic health at the national and state levels since we first started asking about it in 2020,” said Debra Horner, the survey’s senior program manager. “Although we saw a slight improvement in 2022 and 2023, this year perceptions of the functioning of democracy in the U.S. and Michigan have unfortunately slipped a bit again. It’s always concerning, but particularly to see the drop in confidence heading into the elections this fall.”

Horner and her team also note the continued lower rating of civic health by local leaders across the state in their own communities. Their assessment declined for the first time last year, from 84% with positive assessments in 2022 to 79% last year.

That percentage stayed the same in this year’s survey but those who view democracy as poorly functioning increased slightly, from 4% to 7%.

“Over the years, the survey has asked about a wide variety of issues around civic relationships and discourse, and local leaders have typically reported very positively about their own communities,” said Natalie Fitzpatrick, project manager for U-M’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP), which conducts the survey. “To see continuing signs that dysfunction local leaders perceive at higher levels is trickling down to Michigan counties, cities, townships and villages is cause for alarm.”

Still, survey officials say Michigan’s local leaders consider civic relationships in their communities remain positive overall, and debate on contentious issues remains mostly constructive. Although assessments of local democracy haven’t improved, an overwhelming majority of local leaders continue to believe democracy is functioning well where they live.

The findings come from the spring 2024 installment of a survey conducted since 2009 by CLOSUP at U-M’s Ford School of Public Policy. The program is a partnership with Michigan’s local government associations.

Respondents include village, township, city and county officials from 1,307 jurisdictions across the state, resulting in a 70% response rate by unit.