Michigan voters have embraced early, in-person voting, with over a half-million casting ballots so far. Another 1.6 million have cast votes via an absentee ballot.
Mike Wilkinson
Mike has been a reporter for Bridge Michigan since 2013 and focuses on data-assisted reporting, often finding stories by analyzing maps and data sets and has created Bridge's dashboards on COVID-19, the state's economy and Michigan's elections. He held similar positions at The Detroit News and The Blade of Toledo. A native of Michigan, Mike grew up in Macomb County, graduated from the University of Michigan and started his reporting career in New Baltimore before his career took him to Illinois, Tennessee and Ohio. You can reach him at mwilkinson@bridgemi.com
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan continues to bleed residents, losses to other states double in 2023
Michigan’s population will likely continue to decline, with worsening out migration no longer offset by more births than deaths.
Posted inMichigan Government
More than 1.2 million Michigan voters have cast a ballot so far
Though Republican-leaning counties have cast fewer absentee ballots cast so far, they have closed the gap on Democrats, new absentee voter tallies show.
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan voter rolls inflated by 500K. State says it’s no issue. GOP disagrees
Automatic voter registrations with driver license renewals has caused voter registrations to soar. Republicans have sued, but the state says the litigation is part of an effort to sow distrust.
Posted inTalent & Education
In Michigan, voters sour on school bonds. Once an easy sell, half now fail
Some 10% of Michigan districts are going to voters with tax requests in November. Taxes for roads and public safety still overwhelmingly pass, but the success rate of school bonds has plummeted in recent years.
Posted inTalent & Education
Five things to know about Michigan school bond proposals this election
Bridge Michigan and Gongwer News Service analyzed several years of school bond data and the current ballot proposals. Here are five things to know about school funding efforts this fall.
Posted inMichigan Government
Fact-checking the Michigan economy: Prices up. So are wages. What’s true?
The economy is the No. 1 issue for voters. But it’s defied traditional metrics. High interest means high costs but also high pay and investment returns: Charts and graphics explain economy that defies easy characterizations.
Posted inMichigan Government
Crime fact check: Violence fell in ‘23, but still high in many Michigan cities
FBI crime stats released this week show violent crime fell in many Michigan cities but still remains higher than 2020. Different data sets, though, allow Trump, Harris to make their case to suit their views.
Posted inMichigan Government
Tough job, fewer applicants: Michigan struggles to hire police, survey finds
Most communities have trouble hiring police officers, according to a University of Michigan study of 1,800 local governments. Officials blame declining respect and lower pay.
Posted inTalent & Education
In Michigan, 1 in 3 students miss 18+ days of school a year, data shows
Michigan students are already suffering from pandemic learning losses. High rates of absenteeism make it worse. Rates improved slightly from last year but are still well above 2019.