Key dates, deadlines and resources to help you navigate Michigan’s 2026 elections.
Political and Public Policy Information
Detroit’s high property taxes are driving a housing affordability crisis – how can city leaders bring down costs?
Detroiters paid the highest effective property tax rate among major cities in the United States at 3.02% in 2024, according to a study from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
New SNAP rules requiring that benefits be used at stores selling healthier food could backfire
Under the stricter new rules, all retailers accepting SNAP as payment must sell at least seven kinds of food in each of those four categories.
What EPA’s PFAS rollback means for contaminated Michigan drinking water
The Trump administration announces it’s rescinding federal drinking water limits for four of six PFAS compounds, weakening protections for Michigan communities dealing with widespread contamination from the toxic “forever chemicals.”
Two deaths at Michigan’s women’s prison renew concerns over medical care
Two women died within four days at Michigan’s only women’s prison, prompting renewed scrutiny of medical care, staffing shortages and treatment delays.
After teen is shot downtown, Detroit police stress curfew enforcement
It comes as city officials ramp up efforts to stem summer violence, offer teens safe evening activities, and keep youths from swarming downtown as they did earlier in the year, startling business owners and running into police.
Detroit’s water affordability crisis is tied to the uneven distribution of stormwater management costs – a fraught history explains why
Utility bills are the primary source of revenue for public water and wastewater systems. Yet both the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, or DWSD, and GLWA are caught in what utility experts call an affordability gap.
Michigan teen tobacco use ticks up as prevention funding lags
Michigan spends far less on tobacco prevention than the federal government recommends. As teen use begins to climb again, health advocates say that should change.
Detroit demolition contractor Gayanga shutting down, suing city
Gayanga Co., the Detroit-based demolition contractor accused by city officials of using contaminated dirt to backfill properties and now at the center of a federal investigation, announced Thursday, May 7, that it is shutting down.
Wayne County tells Department of Justice it doesn’t have requested ballots
The department asked the county to hand over ballots from the 2024 election, but those are in the possession of each municipality, not the county.
