WEST MICHIGAN– State officials are gearing up for one of the biggest gubernatorial elections in recent history with recent numbers show record turnout for the primaries.
City leaders are now strategically forecasting when the best times to head to the polls are based on recent numbers indicating voter turnout for Tuesday’s election could rival the presidential election
Kent County officials are bracing for a 70 percent voter turnout compared to 43 percent in 2014, with roughly 315,000 people expected to cast ballots on Tuesday, according to MLive.
Ottawa County is also preparing for a similar situation, expecting a 65 percent voter turnout, according to MLive.
In fact, the state as a whole setting sights on a record-breaking voter turnout for the gubernatorial election now setting up booths, ordering ballots, and hiring volunteers as if it were the presidential election.
If you’re looking to skip the long lines, Grand Rapids city officials say voting absentee or hitting the polls around 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. Tuesday should save you time.
“Looking at the temperament of the country people are getting involved campaigns attending different rallies and events, we saw higher turn out in the primary election then we ever saw before where normally grand rapids has a 15% turn out and we had 28%, so looking at those indicators it looks like there’s a lot more people plus we have one and a half more absentee ballots than four years ago, so we know that there’s a lot more campaign energy out there and voters wanna get involved in the process,” said Grand Rapids City Clerk Joel Hondorp.
“I think just to reiterate people should do there home work we ask our kids to do there home work and this is a big test, election day is a big test and we either pass it or fail it depends on different perspectives we all have to do our home work and be prepared for what is on the ballot,” Hondorp said.
Polling locations are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
