Findings Based on Focus Groups and an Online Survey Among Voters in Michigan and Ohio

The Project On Government Oversight commissioned Lake Research Partners to conduct a survey of registered, likely 2022 voters in Michigan and Ohio, as well as two online focus groups, to capture attitudes towards government corruption. The focus groups were conducted on July 26 and 27, 2021. The survey was conducted in late August and early September 2021 and included 600 participants (300 in each state). Participants reflected a mix of race/ethnicity, ages, urbanicity, party identification, ideology, educational attainment, household income, marital status, employment status, and parental status.

The results show broad agreement about the importance of addressing government corruption, as well as agreement over the anti-corruption measures most likely to be effective. Across the political spectrum, voters in Michigan and Ohio think removing corrupt officials and banning them from working in public office in the future would be the most effective measure, followed by enforcing rules that make it hard for officials to personally benefit from their policy decisions, and increasing transparency in political spending.