Editor’s note: A previous version of this story required a correction. Michigan voters were all mailed absentee ballot applications as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
With the presidential primary out of the way, Michiganders on Tuesday voted in primary elections for the U.S. Senate along with a number of congressional, state, and local primaries and tax questions.
Those voting at Bedford Township’s 4th Precinct drove up to the tan brick facade of the Bedford Library, donning masks as they entered the polling place. Inside, two socially distanced poll workers in full face shields greeted them and set them up to cast their ballots. The scene was weirdly normal — without the facial coverings, a time traveler would suspect they were witnessing a standard election.
But of course, the time traveler would be sorely mistaken.
As the November presidential election draws closer, one consequence of the coronavirus pandemic has been a partial shift in focus from the candidates and issues to the methods of voting itself. For public health experts, the disease-spreading dangers posed by mass in-person voting necessitates a transition to voting by mail.
While leaders of the Democratic party have generally supported this shift, President Trump and many prominent Republicans have called into question the safety and security of mass vote-by-mail, despite little evidence of problems in the four states that already have similar systems.
Michigan’s primary election, one of five state primaries on Tuesday, could be an indication of things to come.
On a nighttime call with reporters, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson warned that high numbers of absentee ballots could cause delays in reporting final results across the state.
“Some Clerks’ Offices will have results by midnight,” Ms. Benson said. “Most will have results by midday tomorrow.”
She added that Oakland County and Detroit had done especially good jobs so far.
In Bedford Township, the pandemic appeared to spark record-shattering levels of absentee voting. Bedford Township Deputy Clerk Nancy Gin estimated that, as of roughly midday, the county had received around 5,000 absentee ballots. For comparison, she said, the most absentee ballots received for a presidential election in the county – during which total turnout is typically much higher – was around 4,000.
Michigan also sent absentee ballot applications to voters, who could fill out and return the form to then receive their own absentee ballot. Ms. Gin estimated that the township had sent out around 6,000 absentee ballots to its residents.
By comparison, the Bedford Library precinct — one of 14 listed polling locations for the township — had 109 people come into vote as of lunchtime Tuesday, a number that volunteers manning the polls said was “about average.”
Some voters who spoke to The Blade outside the polling place expressed some hesitation about the absentee system.
“I’m not saying that there’s corruption, but if I’m here and I know my ballot is cast I see it,” said Cheryl Lehsten, who went to the polls with her daughters Emma and Ella to show them the civic process.
“I don’t trust [absentee voting] either,” said Dennis Brecht, a 9-year resident who came to vote with his wife Marlene. “There are too many bad things we’ve heard.”
Kellye Horace, who went to vote with her husband, Tim, and daughter Lauryn, was concerned about the speed and reliability of mailing in ballots after having issues with deliveries the family had ordered.
“We would mail something and watch it go back and forth between shipping centers 10 times before it ever left Detroit,” Mr. Horace added.
Voting problems come amid concerns that new rule changes at the United States Postal Service, spurred by new postmaster general Louis DeJoy, have caused delays in mail delivery and service just months before an election that could depend on timely ballot deliveries.
Other voters were even more suspicious of the absentee ballot system.
Pat Jones, who voted with her husband Calvin, said she “has a feeling that this election is going to be rigged” against President Trump through the mail-in ballot system, who she felt was doing a “hell of a job.”
Even some of those who tried to vote absentee ran into issues. Doug Scavio, a retired GM worker who has lived in the area for 36 years, requested an absentee ballot in the mail a couple months ago but never received it.
“I would’ve rather voted [absentee] with my health,” he said, although he did agree with all others interviewed that the process of voting at the precinct felt very safe.
Mary Smith, who became a poll worker six years ago after retiring, said she felt safe working at the Bedford Library on Tuesday with handwashing, personal-protective equipment, and distancing measures in place.
“We’re four to five months into this, and at this point I do what I feel comfortable doing,” she said. “For the most part people understand [the safety measures].”
For those at the polls, a combination of civic duty, party loyalty, and interest in local issues informed their desire to vote.
Ms. Lehsten’s vote was focused less on the issue of the pandemic and more on the local significance of the elections.
“It’s important to me to have your voice heard about what’s going on in the community,” she said. “The pandemic’s here and we have to deal with that. Hopefully it’s not gonna become normal, but if it is, it is.”
For Mr. Horace, the election was to help determine the “future of the township going forward as we try to deal with a post-COVID world.”
On the ballot for these voters to decide were primary elections on the Republican side for a U.S. Senate seat and for both major parties’ nominees for the local seat in the Michigan House of Representatives, plus several local primary races and referenda.
Bob Carr and John James are both seeking the Republican Party nomination for U.S. Senate. The winner will face Democratic Senator Gary Peters, who was elected to his first term in 2014.
Candidates from both parties are vying for their respective parties’ nomination for the 56th district state representative seat, currently held by Republican Jason Sheppard. Democrats Keith Kitchens and Ernie Whiteside are on the ballot, as well as Republicans Austin Blaine and TC Clements. Mr. Sheppard is ineligible to run because of term limits.
Residents of Monroe County and its townships will also have a number of local nomination races on the ballot, including for Monroe County clerk, Bedford Township treasurer and trustee, and Erie Township township supervisor.
County voters from both parties will also vote on a 0.75-mill levy to fund senior citizen services and renewal of a 1-mill property tax to fund 75 percent of the Monroe County Library System’s budget.
Michigan voted in the presidential primary in March, with President Trump winning the Republican nomination and former Vice President Joe Biden the Democratic party nod.
As of 8:30 p.m., 30 minutes after the polls closed, results were not available from the Clerk’s Offices of Bedford Township, Erie Township, or Monroe County, but none reported any problems at the polls.
In Summerfield Township, preliminary results had Dominic Lucarelli besting John Chandler, 360 to 299, for the Republican nomination for supervisor. In the Republican primary for trusteeship Mark Strahan, with 365 votes, beat James Seegert II, with 351 votes, and Blaine Wagner, with 278 votes.
In Ida Township, Republicans Chris Curry and Tim Mata moved on to the general election for a trustee position with 383 and 388 votes, respectively. They beat Jim Thomson, with 318, and Elmer Bowman, with 193, to move on. A fire services mil also passed, according to Ida Clerk Tera Shaffer.
First Published August 4, 2020, 3:20 p.m.
