GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Kent County has issued more than 116,000 absentee ballots. Election day is approaching and more than 54,000 of those absentee ballots have already made their way back to the clerk's office for safekeeping.
Votes are not tabulated until Election Day in Michigan. Anyone who already submitted an absentee has the option to spoil their ballot and change their vote or vote in person.
This year, the same drop boxes remain at the same locations for voters to safely drop off their ballots. Any new drop boxes put out after 2020 have security video, explained Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons.
The 2022 midterm, however, has prompted something new: people observing drop boxes.
“We’ve heard reports that there have been folks observing drop boxes in certain areas. We expect perhaps that may increase as Election Day gets closer," Posthumus Lyons told FOX 17.
Posthumus Lyons says she welcomes anyone to observe the democratic process.
“I encourage those observing the drop boxes. They’re just there to make sure the election is run smoothly,” Posthumus Lyons said.
Posthumus Lyons says any issues can be reported to the local clerk's office or to law enforcement.
“Just make sure that individuals, both observing and putting their ballots in the drop box, just don’t interact with each other,” Posthumus Lyons said.
Absentee voting this midterm election is proving popular, the Kentwood City Clerk told FOX 17.
“People are voting because there are reasons for them to vote,” Kentwood Clerk Dan Kasunic said.
Kasunic says that on Tuesday, October 25, his office received 90 online requests for absentee ballots, an uptick from recent years.
It's impossible to gauge at this point whether or not more people are actually voting. The Kent County Clerk says the absence of heightened pandemic concerns, as well as changes in 2018 that allow for anyone in Michigan to vote absentee without reason, will make voter turnout something to watch in this election.
“It will be interesting to see where we land in 2022, with no pandemic and no reason absentee,” Posthumus Lyons said.
As a reminder Ballot Proposal 2 of 2022 would expand voting access.
If passed, Proposal 2 would allow nine days of early voting in-person and it would provide a six-day grace period for military and overseas voters.
Right now, Michigan voters need to show either photo identification or a written statement to prove their identity at the polls, and Proposal 2 would continue that.
READ MORE: Proposal 2 in Michigan: What voter rights would change if it passed?
