MICHIGAN (WKZO AM/FM) — Heading to the polls could be a thing of the past in Michigan.
On Tuesday the state held its first mainly absentee ballot election, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Under Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order, the Secretary of State’s office mailed absentee ballot applications to 740,000 registered voters in 33 counties that had ballot questions for the May 5th election.
— Statewide Election Numbers —
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says turnout was more than double the average for local May elections and statewide 98% of the 180,000 Michiganders who voted, voted by mail. She called it, “a big win for the state.”
A majority of voters either mailed back their absentee ballots ahead of time or dropped them off at boxes posted at several local clerks’ offices.
Specifically, turnout was estimated around 24%, which is huge compared to the previous May turnout record of 15%.
— Safety Precautions for In-Person Voting —
For the few that wanted to vote in person, Kalamazoo County Clerk Tim Snow says election workers offered face masks and were sanitizing public surfaces throughout the day to ensure the safety of voters. Officials at Kalamazoo City Hall even put marks six feet apart to encourage social distancing for those waiting to vote.
Snow adds that some polling locations were still busy while others were much slower than usual. He says “all things considered” the election process went very well.
— Voters Pass a Majority of Ballot Measures —
Despite the latest economic crisis, Michigan voters were mostly generous during this election.
Results show 44 of the 46 tax proposals on the ballot passed throughout the state. The only ones to fail were in Menominee County.
Benson says this is typical for May elections, but it also shows how important it was to have these elections on schedule, despite the challenges with the current health pandemic.
— Election Numbers for Kalamazoo County —
Over 55,000 absentee ballots were issued in Kalamazoo County and 42,700 were returned, which is about a 77.5% return rate. Snow 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 process is also expected to change how voters cast their ballots in the future. Snow says there are well more than 45,00 people now on the permanent absentee ballot in the county, which is double what it was a year ago.
That means more voters may just submit their ballots by mail in the upcoming elections to avoid the long lines and stress of heading to the polls.
Registering to vote the day of wasn’t widely used in this election. At last reported, only 8 people in Kalamazoo County registered on May 5th.
More results from Kalamazoo County can be found here.
— Elections Going Forward —
Benson says even during this time of uncertainty she can be certain that the primary and general elections will happen “on time and on schedule.”
She adds that Michiganders will continue to have the right to vote by mail through a no-reason absentee ballot.
Voters can go to michigan.gov/vote to request an application to vote by mail when the time comes.
Benson says the plan is to have normal polling places open for the upcoming elections, but they are continuing to review health data and the latest information from the May 5th election.
