by: WOODTV.com staff
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Today, Tuesday August 4th, is primary election day sees many local races, state and U.S. House primaries on the ballot, and a large increase in absentee voting.
For in-person voters, polls open 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. You don’t need to show photo identification to vote, but it does speed up the process, so the SoS advises you bring your ID.
Today's election is a primary, when voters select the candidates their party will put forth in the Nov. 3 general election. That means you can only vote on one side of the ticket; if you vote in both Republican and Democratic primaries, your ballot will be rejected.
An important note: if you haven’t yet mailed in your absentee ballot, do not do so. Instead, drop it off in person at your clerk’s office or in your community’s drop box before polls close at 8 p.m. The ballot must be back to the clerk today; an Aug. 4 postmark is not good enough to get it counted.
For those voting in person, check with the SoS website to make sure your polling place hasn’t moved. You are strongly urged, but not strictly required, to wear a mask at the polls.
ABSENTEE VOTING
This time around, absentee voting is bigger than ever before in Michigan for two reasons: First, voters in recent years approved changes that make it easier; and second, state officials have pushed it to limit in-person attendance at polls as a coronavirus mitigation effort.
Clerks noted in the 2016 primary, about 484,000 absentee ballots were returned. The Secretary of State’s Office says we’re seeing at least double that for this election.
More: woodv.com