Support for affirmative action ban drops in poll
Voters are less likely to vote in favor of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, or MCRI, when the proposal language states it will "ban affirmative action programs," a research company discovered.
The MCRI proposal will end preferential treatment for minorities in government and university programs if it's passed in the November election.
Mitchell Research and Communications Inc. conducted the poll of 600 Michigan residents likely to vote and found that 46 percent would vote "yes" on the proposal in support of MCRI. This is an 18 percent drop from a January 2004 poll conducted by the company, in which the proposal description did not include "ban affirmative action programs."
The Board of State Canvassers decided in January to revise the wording of the ballot after a number of MCRI opponents testified against the original form of the proposal. The wording "give preferential treatment to" was changed to "ban affirmative action programs."
Steve Mitchell, the chairman of Mitchell Research and Communications Inc., said the entire proposal was read to voters as it would appear on the ballot in November.
"I thought support would drop, and it has dropped," he said.
The 2006 poll found that 30 percent would vote to oppose MCRI, and 26 percent were undecided.
Mitchell said he thinks the undecided portion of the voters will be inclined to vote "yes" on the proposal.
"Under normal circumstances, the undecided voters almost always vote 'no,'" he said. "But because this is a racial issue, I think some of the undecided voters would vote 'yes.'"
Vincent Hutchings — a University of Michigan professor of political science who specializes in voter behavior — said language is very important in politics, and the quest to ban affirmative action is no exception.
"Affirmative action sounds like an effort and gives the impression it's being made to address a societal wrong," he said. "Then there's this notion of preferences, which implies that benefits being provided to groups give an unfair advantage."
Kyle Bristow, chairperson for Young Americans for Freedom, a conservative nonpartisan student group, supports MCRI and said affirmative action belittles minorities.
"It's a sad day with our country and colleges and jobs when skin color is taken into consideration," he said. "We should be more mature than we are now. The more qualified person should get the job, should get into college."
LaTanya Simpson, former president of Black Student Alliance, said if the proposal does pass in November, a lack of understanding about MCRI is to blame.
"I just hope people will read and respect differences," she said. "I'm not against anyone supporting it, but I know why I don't support it. I think people are just saying 'yes' or 'no' and don't really know what it entails."
Published on Wednesday, May 17, 2006