By Amy Hensel
989-387-8929
ahensel@cherryroad.com
The Michigan voters now have three ways to vote in national elections, including the Presidential Primary Feb. 2: the original way – in person on designated day; by absentee ballot; and during nine days of early voting. A proposal which included early voting for national elections was passed by Michigan voters in November 2022.
Early voting
Big Creek is the location where Oscoda County residents may place their vote early, in person, for the upcoming Presidential Primary. Residents of all Oscoda County townships – Clinton, Comins, Elmer Greenwood, Mentor as well as Big Creek – are welcome to vote at Big Creek Township Hall, 1175 W. Ryno Road, Luzerne. Early voting begins Saturday, Feb. 17 and runs through Sunday, Feb. 25. The polls will be open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. each day.
In addition to the Presidential Primary, voters are being asked to consider a millage from C.O.O.R. Independent School District. Greenwood Township residents will see a millage to fund brining in their township.
There is a one-day pause, Feb. 26, between early voting and Presidential Primary election. All township precincts will be open Tuesday, Feb. 27 for in-person voting 7 a.m.-8 p.m. On that day, you must vote in the township in which you are registered.
Absentee voting
Voters can request an applications for an absentee ballot from their township clerk. Voting with an absentee ballot is a good option for voters who are away from home when in-person voting is available or who may have difficulty getting to in-person voting at the appointed time, due to health or weather conditions.
The same proposal which provided for early voting expanded the flexibility of absentee voting as well.
“Voters can tell us that they want to be a permanent absentee,” Big Creek Township Clerk Rhonda Mundt said. “If we had them marked as a permanent absentee, in QVF (Qualified Voter File), we would have sent them an application for an absentee ballot. On this absentee application, there is a place that they can mark if they want to be a permanent voter, which means that we won’t send them any more applications. They will just automatically get a ballot. Almost everybody that’s a permanent absentee has signed up for permanent ballot.”
Voters can mail absentee ballots or deliver them in person to their township clerk.
“They can drop [the ballot] off up until the polls close at eight o’clock on Election Day,” Mundt said. “I’m mandated to go out and check the drop box and check the mailbox before the polls close to make sure that there’s nothing in there.”
There is another option for voters who have an absentee ballot but are able to appear in person during early voting.
“They can bring that ballot in and tabulate it during the nine days,” Mundt said. “Before, we always had to spoil that ballot and issue them a new one, but they’ve changed it this year. They can bring their absentee ballot in and tabulate it.”
If a voter changes their mind and doesn’t want to use their absentee ballot, they must turn give it to the clerk before receiving an in-person ballot.
“If they decide they want to come in and vote in person, they need to bring the absentee ballot that they have received at home along with them,” Mundt said. “We can spoil that one and issue a new one.”
