What To Know About Voting This November
Jessilyn Averill
A note about the importance of voting
Voter turnout decreases 10 to 20%, on average, during midterm elections compared to presidential elections. However, midterm elections can be when some of the most important races take place – and they can offer voters a greater chance to be heard in their local and statewide elections. These elections have significant impacts on the lives of average voters – particularly in the realm of housing justice. City councils and County Commissioners often have more power over affordable housing, anti-discrimination, and supportive housing policies than representatives at the federal, or even state, levels. Educating yourself about local and state level candidates and their platforms can help you use your voice to establish a fairer and just housing system in your community.
Voting can also be confusing and inaccessible to many. We have compiled a centralized list of resources that are vital for making sure that you can vote on November 8, and that you are confident about the vote you cast for every measure and candidate on your ballot.
Important dates and deadlines
❖ Monday, October 18
➢ Last recommended day to request an absentee ballot to avoid potential mailing delays
❖ Monday, October 24
➢ Last day to register to vote online
➢ Last recommended day to return absentee ballot by mail to avoid potential mailing delays
❖ Thursday, October 29
➢ In person early voting begins
❖ 5:00pm on Friday, November 4
➢ Last day to request an absentee ballot online or by mail
❖ 4:00pm on Monday, November 7
➢ Deadline to vote early by absentee ballot at your clerk’s office
❖ Tuesday, November 8
➢ Vote in person at your local polling place from 7:00am to 8:00pm
➢ Register to vote in person at your clerk’s office until 8:00pm
■ Eligible residents must provide official proof of residency if registering to vote between October 9 and November 8
➢ Return absentee ballot to your designated drop box or local clerk’s office by hand by 8:00pm
Resources
➢ Make a plan to vote
■ Figure out the date, time, location, and voting type that works best for you
➢ Register to vote
➢ Check your voter registration status
■ This is important because voting status can be deactivated after a period of inactivity, and you may have to re-register
■ Voting status can also be incorrectly deactivated due to technological errors
➢ Request an absentee ballot
➢ Return your absentee ballot
➢ Research your ballot
■ Read bios of candidates that will be on your ballot and find out where they stand on important issues
■ Learn about what referendums or initiatives you will be able to vote on - understand what they say and the impact they would have
➢ Register to vote
➢ Find qualifications for voting eligibility
➢ Request an absentee ballot
➢ Find out how to change your vote after you have returned an absentee ballot
➢ Additional resources
■ Accessibility and accommodations
■ Students
➢ Resources surrounding voter education and registration, as well as media, legal and advocacy resources specifically focused on affordable housing
What to know about your ballot
❖ Statewide election issues
➢ Proposals that will be on the ballot
■ Voters for Transparency and Term Limits
● The ballot measure would amend the state constitution to reduce the maximum length a lawmaker can serve in the Legislature from 14 years to 12 years but would allow them to serve the full tenure in one chamber. Currently, lawmakers can serve up to six years in the Michigan House and eight years in the Senate.
● The constitutional amendment would also require state lawmakers, the governor, the secretary of state and the state attorney general to disclose certain financial information, including description of assets, sources of all forms of income, description of liabilities, positions held outside their elected office, arrangements regarding future employment, continuing benefits from former employers other than the state, and payments and gifts received from lobbyists.
■ Promote the Vote seeks to amend the state constitution to:
● Allow nine days of early voting
● Publicly subsidize absentee ballots and a tracking system for the ballot location
● Continue to allow registered voters without a state ID to sign an affidavit attesting to their identity
● Allow public sources and charities to fund elections, subject to disclosure rules
● Allow voters to register for absentee ballots for all future elections
● Require ballot drop boxes for every 15,000 voters in a municipality
● Establish that post-election audits can only be conducted by state and local officials
● Require canvass boards to only certify election results based on the official vote counts
■ Reproductive Freedom for All
● The measure would amend the state Constitution to make reproductive freedom a right, repealing a decades-old law that makes abortion a felony. (The law was set to take effect after the U.S. Supreme Court last month struck down Roe v. Wade – a 1973 landmark case that offered federal protection for abortion, but a Michigan judge has issued an injunction blocking the state law from being enforced.)
➢ Executive offices up for election
■ Governor
■ State Board of Education (2 seats)
■ University of Michigan Board of Regents (2 seats)
■ Michigan State University Board of Trustees (2 seats)
■ Wayne State University Board of Governors (2 seats)
❖ Washtenaw County election issues
➢ Washtenaw County Primary Results (candidates)
■ Provides a list of candidates who won their primary elections and will be on the ballot on the 2022 midterm elections, along with the city and district they will be running in.
➢ Unofficial List of Proposals (Includes more detailed descriptions of proposals. Proposals of largest cities and townships are listed below.)
■ Ann Arbor City
● Tax for Community Climate Action
■ Dexter City
● City of Dexter Charter Amendment Proposal
● Public Safety Facilities Bond Proposal
■ Dexter Township
● Dexter Township Farmland and Open Space Land Preservation Millage
■ Dexter District Library
● Library Millage Renewal
■ Saline City
● Street Millage Proposal
■ Saline Area Schools
● Bonding Proposal
■ Augusta Charter Township
● Parks and Pathways Millage Proposal
● “Headlee” Override Millage Increase Proposal
● Proposition for Police Public Safety Millage
■ Manchester Township
● Renew and Increase Extra –Voted Millage to Offset Headlee Rollbacks
■ Scio Township
● Farmland and Open Space Land Preservation Millage Proposal
■ Ypsilanti Community Schools
● Operating Millage Proposal