Proposal 2 leads in two new polls, as critics warn its ad-disclosure rules could reach news outlets and voter guides

LANSING — Proposal 2, the citizen-initiated law that would bar campaign donations from Michigan’s regulated utilities and big government contractors, heads into Tuesday’s election with a wide lead in two new polls. Critics are using the final days to argue that its fine print reaches much further than utility money.

A WDIV/Detroit News poll by the Glengariff Group found 73.8% of likely voters would vote yes, 17% no and 9.2% undecided after hearing the ballot summary. The live-operator phone survey of 600 likely voters ran Oct. 19–22 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

An online survey of 1,008 likely voters by Marketing Resource Group, taken Oct. 9–14, found 63% support, 16% opposition and 22% undecided, Michigan Capitol Confidential reported. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 points.

What Proposal 2 would do

The measure would ban regulated electric and gas utilities, companies with more than $250,000 a year in state or local government contracts, and people and groups with “substantial connections” to them from giving to state candidates. It would also require disclosure when groups spend $5,000 or more on political ads within 100 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary, and extend disclosure rules to online ads, WDIV reported. The Mitten Daily explained what Proposal 2 would ban and who is behind it earlier this month.

“The entities giving millions and millions of dollars to politicians often get exactly what they want in policy,” Christy McGillivray, co-chair of Michiganders for Money Out of Politics, told WDIV. “When they’re allowed to give to elected officials, pay-to-play politics is the outcome.”

The free-speech objection

Opponents focus on a new category the proposal creates, called “electioneering communications”: public messages within 100 days of an election that mention a candidate, even without urging a vote for or against anyone.

Michael Van Beek, research vice president at the free-market Mackinac Center for Public Policy, wrote that anyone spending $5,000 on such communications would have to report to the state within 10 days, with criminal penalties for not filing. Current law exempts news outlets from having ordinary coverage treated as campaign spending, but Van Beek argues that exemption would not carry over to the new category. He pointed to two televised governor’s debates this fall and to the League of Women Voters’ voter guide, which the league says it mailed to libraries in 140,000 copies, as examples that could be swept in. The league, a backer of Proposal 2, did not respond to Capitol Confidential’s request for comment.

John Sellek, spokesperson for the opposition committee Protect MI Free Speech, told WDIV the measure “goes far beyond what its secret, dark-money funded creators are telling people” and predicted courts would find it an unconstitutional limit on free speech.

On the ballot Tuesday

Proposal 2 is a proposed initiated law, not a constitutional amendment. It has also come up in legislative races, including the 37th state Senate District contest in northern Michigan. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and voters can see their full ballot at michigan.gov/vote.

Sources:
WDIV/ClickOnDetroit, “Michigan voters would back proposed campaign finance law on November ballot, according to new poll,” Oct. 28, 2026 (Glengariff poll results, question wording, methodology), https://www.clickondetroit.com/decision-2026/2026/10/28/michigan-voters-would-back-proposed-campaign-finance-law-on-november-ballot-according-to-new-poll/
Michigan Capitol Confidential, “Poll shows Proposal 2 support in Michigan,” Oct. 30, 2026 (Marketing Resource Group poll, electioneering communications, League of Women Voters guides), https://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/news/poll-shows-proposal-2-support-in-michigan
Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Michael Van Beek, “Proposal 2 would regulate far more than political ads” ($5,000 threshold, 10-day reports, penalties, media exemption), https://www.mackinac.org/blog/2026/proposal-2-would-regulate-far-more-than-political-ads
WDIV/ClickOnDetroit, “Michigan Proposal 2 aims to limit corporate money in politics — supporters, opponents clash,” Oct. 16, 2026 (what the measure does; McGillivray and Sellek quotes), https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2026/10/17/michigan-proposal-2-aims-to-limit-corporate-money-in-politics-supporters-opponents-clash/
Photo: w_lemay, “Michigan State Capitol, Capitol Avenue, Lansing, MI - 54383325719.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michigan_State_Capitol,_Capitol_Avenue,_Lansing,_MI_-_54383325719.jpg

Lansing · Election 2026 coverage

Tags: Lansing · Election 2026 · Proposal 2 · Campaign Finance · Mackinac Center · Ballot Proposals