COVID-19

Absentee voting surges during coronavirus shutdown

Turnout during May elections is usually pretty light. This year is different.

Tuesday’s election in Michigan saw unusally high numbers of voters despite a statewide shutdown that closed polling locations.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said voter turnout was likely to be unprecedented.

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Group of people laughing and chatting underneath the text "Eat. Drink. Give. Craft beer. Wine. Great food."

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Friday, April 28, 2023 | 7-10PM
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“We anticipate this election will surpass even the 23% turnout that was recorded in 2015 when there was a statewide question,” she said, according to an article on MLive.

That may be due in part to the fact that all registered voters living in areas with May 5 elections were automatically sent applications for absentee ballots. That followed the governor’s March 27 order temporarily suspending election laws.

You can read more here.

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