GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Tuesday is Election Day, marking a potentially pivotal midterm at the federal level and the selection of a new governor here in Michigan.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. You can find your polling place and view a sample ballot by visiting the Michigan Secretary of State's Voter Information Center website.
In our state, you don’t need to show photo identification to vote, but it does speed up the process, so if you have one, you're advised to bring it.
It's also important to remember that after a legal back-and-forth, there won't be any straight-ticket voting this time around, so you'll have to fill in your choice for each race.
>>Online: Tips for voters
Voter turnout is expected to more closely resemble a presidential election than a midterm. In Grand Rapids, the city clerk expects to see 53 percent turnout. It was 36 percent for the 2014 midterm and 63 percent for the 2016 presidential election. In Kent County, which has the state's fourth-largest number of registered voters, turnout could hit 65 percent.
If you have any problems at your polling place or see what you believe to a violation of rules, you should contact your local clerk. You can also tell 24 Hour News 8 about those problems by emailing ReportIt@woodtv.com.
As your local election headquarters, 24 Hour News 8 will have the latest from the polls all day on air and on woodtv.com. We'll have comprehensive election coverage on air at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. We'll have additional coverage online starting at 8 p.m. Starting at 10 p.m., we'll be back on WOOD TV8 with results and live reports from around the state.
After the polls close, you can find election results as they come in on woodtv.com.
YOUR BALLOT
The big race in Michigan, of course, is the one for the governor's office. Democrat Gretchen Whitmer and Republican Bill Schuette are vying to take over for current Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican who could not run again due to term limits. Whitmer is a former state legislator and county prosecutor. Schuette, who previously served in both the state Legislature and U.S. Congress and as a judge, is currently the state's attorney general.
Michigan voters will also decide on three ballot questions. Proposal 1 would legalize the recreational use of marijuana, Proposal 2 would change the way legislative districts are drawn, and Proposal 3would set rules for voting registration, absentee voting and straight-ticket voting. A poll conducted last month showed voters were leaning toward saying yes to all three.
>>Ballot language: Proposal 1 | Proposal 2 | Proposal 3