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The Mackinac Center’s 2026 policy recommendations start right at the top, with a call to add the governor and lawmakers to Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act. We’re also fighting against a misguided and constitutionally unsound effort to overturn America’s Electoral College.
Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act gives citizens and watchdogs a tool to discover what their government is up to. But the state Legislature and the governor’s office are still exempt from the law. Michigan is one of only two states with this broad exemption, which limits the public’s ability to hold top officials accountable.
Our 2026 recommendations will help Michiganders better understand how their government operates and how politicians spend their money. Economic development deals — especially taxpayer-funded business subsidies — should be fully open to public scrutiny. Taxpayers have the right to know where their money is going and whether public officials keep their lofty promises about these corporate handouts.
The Mackinac Center also opposes a major national effort to undermine the constitutional order in presidential elections. The Center recommends lawmakers avoid joining the coalition of states that wish to eliminate the Electoral College. This election safeguard ensures that voters in all states have their voices heard in national elections. As the United States of America enters its 250th year, we must stop this effort to replace the longstanding norms of our republic with a legally suspect interstate compact that would throw national elections to the largest states and those with the loosest election laws.
These recommendations are necessary reforms to make Michigan’s government more open, responsive and accountable. There seems to be an increasing number of controversies and scandals in local and state governments. Requiring officials to make more records public would act as a critical deterrent to those who would abuse taxpayer resources. The Mackinac Center will continue to champion policies that give the public more access to the workings of government.
