KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — With less than 30 days until the November 3rd general election, officials in the city of Kalamazoo are making sure voters have plenty of ways to get their vote counted.
On Monday, the Kalamazoo City Clerk’s Office opened their second branch office on the main level of the Bernhard Center on Western Michigan University’s campus.
Both locations can help Kalamazoo City voters with all election-related requests like voter registration and absentee ballots, and although the new branch is on WMU’s campus, City Clerk Scott Borling says it’s available for any registered voter to utilize.
“One of the main goals of doing this is to encourage voting among students, and also to hopefully reduce the lines we usually see at the Bernhard Center on election day,” Borling said. “There are two voting precincts that vote there, and especially in larger elections, the longest lines are always at the Bernhard Center. We’re hoping that by offering the satellite location on campus, that will give a good opportunity for students to be able to register to vote, get an absentee ballot and take care of that business well in advance of election day.”
The hours for the main clerk’s office and the remote location are now weekdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
In addition to the normal business hours, the City Clerk’s Office will offer 16 open-office hours on evenings and weekends in the month of October for the purpose of voter registration and absentee voting. On October 19th and 27th the Clerk’s Office will be open from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m., and on Saturday, October 24th the Clerk’s Office will be open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. The Clerk’s Office will also be open for eight hours prior to the election on Saturday, October 31st from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
The day before election day they will be open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and on election day both locations are operating from 7 a.m. until polls close at 8 p.m.
The Kalamazoo City Manager’s Office is located at 241 West South Street in downtown Kalamazoo near Bronson Park and WMU’s Bernhard Center is at 1903 West Michigan Avenue in Kalamazoo.
The city of Kalamazoo has also installed four new ballot drop-off boxes in addition to the box that has already been available south of City Hall on St. Johns Place.
The new drop boxes are at:
- Douglass Community Association, 1000 W Paterson St
- Eastside Neighborhood Association, 1301 E Main St
- City of Kalamazoo Stockbridge Offices, 415 E Stockbridge Ave
- Kalamazoo Public Safety Station 7, 2331 Parkview Ave
“Regardless of how you intend to vote, we encourage you to make a plan and do as much as you can ahead of time,” said Borling. “Make sure you are registered, request and return absentee ballots, and check your polling location ahead of time. And if you vote absentee, make sure you sign your ballot.”
Full details, including expanded hours, can be found by viewing the city documents here or at the city’s website here.
Voters looking for their polling locations for November 3rd, details on absentee voting, a sample ballot, and other election information can go to michigan.gov/vote.
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