DETROIT - Michigan voters appeared overwhelmingly against a proposal that would make it harder for the state to restrict local government authority.

A Detroit Free Press/WXYZ-TV exit poll showed Proposal 2 was trailing 68 percent to 32 percent. The poll of 600 voters had a margin of error of 4 percentage points in either direction.

With 18 percent of precincts reporting, 72 percent were against the proposal and 28 percent for it.

Under Proposal 2, the Legislature would need a two-thirds vote - a super majority - to pass any bill that would restrict or eliminate local government authority.

It would apply to laws enacted on or after March 1, 2000, including a ban on local residency requirements and a requirement that trigger locks be sold with handguns. Those laws would have to be passed again, this time by a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate.

“Voters clearly understood this proposal, and they rejected the Michigan Municipal League’s plan for uncontrolled local government,” said Rich Studley, vice president of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and a proposal opponent. “A lot of issues should be decided on the local level, but there are a lot more state and regional issues that can and should be decided in Lansing.”

Donald Stypula, spokesman for the Let Local Votes Count campaign and the Municipal League, said he was disappointed with the vote but satisfied that the issue of local control has been brought to light.

“Proposal 2 has sent a wake-up call to state legislators and special interests that local control matters, even though the people said this wasn’t the vehicle they wanted to use,” he said.