Survey: Michigan Public Evenly Divided on Affirmative Action Proposal

      Support has eroded for a proposal to ban affirmative action in government hiring and university admissions in Michigan, according to results of a statewide poll released last week.

      Forty-seven percent of 600 likely voters surveyed opposed the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, which will be on the ballot in the November election. Forty-four percent favored it, while 9 percent were undecided.

      Because the poll’s margin of sampling error was plus or minus 4 percentage points, the 3-point difference means that the contest was about even.

      Even so, the numbers represent a big setback for the proposal, which drew 64 percent support — 20 points more than the latest poll — in a similar survey nearly two years ago, according to Ed Sarpolus of EPIC/MRA, the company that performed both surveys. Last December, 53 percent were in favor and 32 percent were opposed.

      “This is the first time in two years the Civil Rights Initiative is below 50 percent,” Sarpolus says. “It’s an amazing change.”

      Opponents of affirmative action circulated petitions seeking the ballot initiative after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that the University of Michigan Law School could consider race to create a diverse student population.

      Critics contend the initiative’s early popularity was due largely to its name, which they say was deceptive and didn’t make clear its goal was to restrict affirmative action. Leaders of the initiative denied the charge.

      David Waymire, spokesman for an opposition group called One United Michigan, said the latest EPIC/MRA poll was the first he knew of that asked voters about the initiative using language that will appear on the ballot.