Michigan Road Proposal In Trouble? Poll Shows Majority Of Voters Against Sales Tax Hike

LANSING (WWJ) - A new poll shows that Michigan's road funding and sales tax proposal is in some trouble ahead of the May 5 primary.

Data released Friday by Michigan Information and Research Service shows that more than half of the state's likely voters are opposed to dedicating a one percent increase in the sales tax for a permanent road funding fix.

"Seventy-two percent of the people out there this morning have seen the governor's ads. But here's the bad news: It's had no impact on the numbers," said WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick. "If the election was held today, the survey says 36 percent of the people would vote yes, while 55 percent would vote no."

The level of opposition continued to rise after those polled read the actual ballot language that will be put in front of voters.

"Here is even worse news," said Skubick, "Once all of the information of the ballot plan is shared with the voters, the support drops to 29 percent and the no vote goes up to 65 percent."

The proposal calls for tax money collected at the gas pump to be used for road repairs and other transportation needs. The sales tax would increase from six to seven percent -- with the extra penny earmarked for schools and local governments.

Among independents, 66 percent are opposed to the plan. Democrats appear to be the most receptive, with 45 percent saying they plan to vote yes and 44 percent planning to vote no.

Women are more likely to support the plan (38 percent) than men (33 percent).

On a regional basis, the Traverse City region appears to be the most inclined toward the plan. A total of 49 percent of Traverse City media market registered voters indicated they were a yes vote, while 43 percent were no when first asked about the plan.

Locally, the Detroit and Flint media markets had 58 percent of voters opposed to the proposal. The Lansing media market had 47 percent opposed and Grand Rapids had 53 percent opposed.

**The survey of 700 registered voters was conducted Tuesday and Wednesday and included voters who indicated they're likely to vote on the May 5 proposal. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.64 percent.