With reforms moving through the Michigan State Senate, our newly released polling shows tremendous support in Michigan for overhauling the civil asset forfeiture process, with a majority saying they would vote for a legislator who shared their desire for reform.
80% of Michigan residents agree that the current laws require major reforms. After learning more about the civil asset forfeiture, an overwhelming majority of respondents would support reform, including 76% of Republicans, 84% of Democrats and 80% of independents.
After hearing both sides of the argument, support grew to 90% in Michigan.
Supporting civil asset forfeiture reforms can help legislators in the next election: Legislators who support civil asset forfeiture reform could expect broad support from voters, 51% said they’d be more likely to re-elect a representative willing to reform the current laws.
Fixing the civil asset forfeiture process it will be a significant step toward making the criminal justice system smarter, fairer, and more effective.
Fix Forfeiture released this new polling in conjunction with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and ACLU-Michigan’s new study, “Civil Forfeiture in Michigan: A Review and Recommendations for Reforms.”