KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — It was an usual election day in Michigan, but also a historic one.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this was the first time the state executed a mainly at-home election, through mail-in absentee ballots. Voters could drop off their absentee ballots at their local clerk’s office or stop in to cast a ballot in-person, but all other polling locations were closed to encourage social distancing.
Here are the unofficial results for Kalamazoo County:
Kalamazoo Regional Education Service Agency millage renewal: KRESA is requesting a renewal of the 1.5 mil property tax for another three years. If approved the millage will raise approximately $12,543,252 for over a dozen school districts in Kalamazoo County.
- ***Yes: 27,729***
- No: 14,525
(86 of 86 precincts reported)
Ross Township Millage Renewal for Fire Protection: The proposal is a renewal of 1 mill for five years to fund the Augusta-Ross Township Fire Department. It would help with operating and maintaining fire protection services and related emergency services provided by the department, including the purchase of vehicles, apparatus, equipment, and housing, thereby raising an estimated $367,576.83 in the first year the millage is levied.
- ***Yes: 1,120***
- No: 328
(2 of 2 precincts reported)
Otsego Public Schools Bonding Proposal: The proposal is about a 22.9 million dollar school improvement bond. The district’s millage rate would remain at 8.49 mills and it would replace the current building and site sinking fund with this bond proposal. The proposal would be used for remodeling, furnishing and refurnishing, and equipping and re-equipping school facilities; erecting, furnishing, and equipping a pool addition to Otsego High School; erecting, furnishing, and equipping a storage building; and preparing, developing, improving, and equipping athletic facilities, athletic fields, the running track, playgrounds and other sites.
- ***Yes: 1,934***
- No: 1,401
(This includes all precincts in Allegan, Kalamazoo, and Van Buren Counties.)
Vicksburg Community Schools Bonding Proposal: The district is asking for approval of a bond of approximately 41 million dollars to renovate school district buildings. The ballot measure is specifically asking voters to approve a 3.3-mil property tax to partially fund the projects, with additional money coming from investment returns on issued bonds over a period of multiple years. The rate is anticipated to decrease to almost 3 mils over time as more bonds get issued. This would provide renovations to schools, new school buses, fixes to athletic fields, new technology, and more.
- ***Yes: 2,216***
- No: 1,744
(8 of 8 precincts reported)
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The whole voting process was very different this time.
Most voters avoided in-person contact by either mailing back their absentee ballots or dropping them off in the boxes posted at several local clerks’ offices.
Kalamazoo County Clerk Tim Snow says election workers offered face masks to in-person voters and were sanitizing pens, voting booths, and other public surfaces throughout the day. Marks six feet apart were placed in city hall to encourage social distancing.
For the most part, Snow says that some offices were slower than expected. In fact, the city of Kalamazoo saw less than 100 people. Most voters were just dropping off their absentee ballots.
Snow adds that “all things considered” the election went very well. Over 55,000 absentee ballots were issued in Kalamazoo County and 42,700 were returned, which is about a 77.5% return rate. He says 9 of the 19 jurisdictions had better than an 80% return rate. “It’s a little bit less than our usual return rate for absentee ballots, which is usually in the 90s,” said Snow.
This is also expected to change how voters cast their ballots in the future. Snow says there are well more than 45,00 people on the permanent absentee ballot in the county now, which is double what it was a year ago.
Registering to vote the day of wasn’t widely used this election. At last reported only 8 people in Kalamazoo County registered on May 5th.
Under Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order, the Secretary of State’s office mailed absentee ballot applications to 740,000 registered voters for the May 5th election. 33 counties had ballot questions. Snow says out of all the areas voting, 25% of the entire election was in Kalamazoo County.
The final tallies came in early Wednesday morning. Snow said they were just waiting on Portage’s ballots to be counted. There were over 10,000 ballots in Portage.
