Biggest primary challenge — voter apathy

LANSING, Mich. — Rev. Steve Bland Jr. remembers the massive get-out-the-vote effort he helped mobilize four years ago, when pastors and community leaders spread out across Detroit neighborhoods, made phone calls and worked around the clock to encourage people to vote.

He’s not seeing that kind of enthusiasm this time around.

Madeleine Byrne, a 25-year-old from Bloomfield Hills in Oakland County, a wealthy suburban enclave that proved pivotal in Michigan’s swing back toward Democrats in recent years, said she likes how former President Donald Trump has “put America first” but has misgivings about supporting him in 2024.

“I think he causes fights where they aren’t necessary,” she said.

In Michigan, a state that both major parties say they must have to win the White House in 2024, a cloud of apathy has settled over the electorate. Even with crucial races for the U.S. Senate and Congress also on the ballot, genuine enthusiasm is hard to find. The state’s voters are poised to cast ballots in their respective primaries Tuesday, but the prospect looms that they will be left with the same choices for president in November they considered four years ago.

That means the biggest task for candidates may be inspiring Michigan voters to care.

“A good quarter of the people I talk to aren’t sure if they’ll vote at all,” said Lori Goldman, who founded a group called “Fems for Dems” to help drive up voter turnout for Biden in Oakland County four years ago. “A lot of people are just like, ‘I’m not voting. I’m not doing it.’ “

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Monday that over 1 million people had already cast their primary ballots, taking advantage of new voting laws that allow for nine days of early, in-person voting. A total of 2.3 million people — or 30% of registered voters — participated in the 2020 primary.

The early vote totals may include a number of “uncommitted” ballots from Democrats unhappy with Biden’s support for Israel in its response to the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib has urged voters to mark their ballots that way Tuesday to send a message to Biden and other Democrats.

Among Republicans, Trump’s rallies draw enthusiastic crowds, and he has racked up decisive wins so far in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and the U.S. Virgin Islands. But it remains unclear whether his support extends beyond the core of true believers who have helped him maintain his grip on the GOP. Surveys by AP VoteCast have shown that some Republicans, especially college-educated and moderate voters, have misgivings about the former president.

For voters such as Byrne, in politically competitive areas like Oakland County, the unease sometimes takes the form of Trump fatigue. Asked how she feels about the choice that’s looming in this year’s presidential contest, Byrne wrinkles her face.

“Honestly, I’ve been thinking about whether I want to vote at all.”

In 2020, voter turnout surged by 14% compared to the previous election, eclipsing the record set in 2008 for the highest number of votes cast in Michigan. The trend continued in 2022 when the state registered its highest midterm election turnout ever.

Young Michigan voters have stepped up in recent years. In 2022, Michigan saw the highest youth voter turnout rate nationwide at 36.5%, surpassing the estimated national youth turnout of 23% by over 13 percentage points, according to CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University.

But the excitement that led to hourslong lines on college campuses across Michigan appears to have died down.

“You’re hearing people say that maybe they’re going to stay out of the election or they don’t know who you’re going to vote for,” said Vrunda Patel, a junior at the University of Michigan.