City absentee ballot requests already over double those in 2016 election
Royal Oak voters are requesting absentee ballots at a record pace in recent weeks.
City Clerk Melanie Halas said her office has already processed requests for more than 22,504 absentee ballots.
“We are issuing approximately 400 (absentee ballots) per day,” she said. “This is the biggest absentee election that I have ever been through.”
In the 2016 presidential election the clerk’s office issued a total of 9,024 absentee ballots— 60percent less than those issued already.
Data and polling show Democrats are more likely to vote by mail this year than Republicans, according to a recent report in the New York Times.
Republicans are expected to bemore likely than Democrats to vote in person in the upcoming election Nov. 3.
Counting of all the absentee ballots nationally are expected to delay final tabulations totals by days or weeks in several battleground states.
That “means that the in- person vote reported on Election Day is likely to show early Republican leads, and that absentee votes tallied later may show Democrats gaining ground,” the Times reported.
Halas said she is unsure whether all the votes will be counted in the city on Election Day.
“Wewill do our best,” she said. “I really don’t know if any communities are going to be finished on Election Day.”
She recommends residents vote their ballots as soon as they receive them and return themas soon as possible.
Royal Oak has three drop boxes — one in front of the police department at 221 Third Street, one inside the new City Hall at 203 S., and one in the P4 parking lot outside the old city hall building.
Voters who want to turn in their ballots in person can go to the clerk’s office in the new City Hall. The City Clerk’s office is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9-11 a.m. Fridays.
Ballots have to be turned in to the clerk’s office by 8 p.m. Election Day. Voting precincts cannot accept absentee ballots.
City commissioners this week approved hiring another person for the next month to help out in the clerk’s office for the election.
“We want to make sure residents feel confident in our election and what is happening,” said City Commissioner Kyle DuBuc.
Mayor Michael Fournier said he, like many other people, is new to mail-in voting. Concern over the COVID-19 pandemic has many people planning to avoid in person voting. Fournier said many people started wondering if the U. S. Postal Service would deliver ballots in time.
“I think people are questioning and have a little bit of nervousness,” he said.
However, he praised Halas’s efforts to make sure the clerk’s office is on top of handling the increase of absentee ballots.
The clerk’s office recently got a $43,947 grant from the nonprofit Center for Tech and Civic Life to be used for expenses related to the upcoming election.
And a new second highspeed ballot scanner was purchased in April with a matching grant from another organization, Halas said.
“This has been a time of challenge and innovation for the employees in the clerk’s office,” she said in a recent memo to city commissioners. “They are determined to serve the voters of Royal Oak and create a seamless voting process whether voters are experienced or brand new and whether they vote by absentee or in person at the 24 precincts (in Royal Oak) on Nov. 3 …”
More information is available on the city website at romi.gov/163/ Elections-Voting