Michigan and affirmative action

Most Michigan voters are against affirmative action:

More than half of Michigan voters favor banning race- and gender-based preferences in university admissions and government hiring, according to a poll released Tuesday.

Fifty-three percent of 600 likely voters said they favored or were leaning toward a state constitutional amendment that could be on the November 2006 ballot, while 33 percent opposed or were leaning against it. Fourteen percent were undecided.

The EPIC/MRA poll was conducted Thursday through Tuesday and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The amendment would stop public agencies and universities from granting preferential treatment based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin or sex.

Earlier this month, a group seeking to ban race- and gender-based affirmative action programs said it submitted more than 508,000 signatures to state election officials. At least 317,757 valid signatures of Michigan voters are needed to put the proposal on the ballot.