Election Day is only days away and Detroit’s City Clerk is urging residents to turn out and cast their ballots for the city’s next mayor, City Council members, clerk and more.
Detroit currently has 519,000 registered voters and officials expect between 18%-23% of voters will turnout, City Clerk Janice Winfrey said at a Thursday, Oct. 30 announcement. That means anywhere between 94,000-119,000 Detroiters will cast their ballots in person on Tuesday Nov. 4, or through early voting or absentee ballots.
“I want to emphasize that in the city of Detroit, you have no excuse not to cast your ballot. There are no excuses or barriers to the process in the city of Detroit,” Winfrey said.
Winfrey emphasized that the city is providing free bus rides through the Detroit Department of Transportation on Election Day, early voting, permanent absentee voting, sending sample ballots to homes for voters to identify their voting location and district, advertisements on TV, social media and the radio, block parties and more. She added that her office invested more on block parties and social media influencers this election to tap more voters who are likely to use social media over other avenues.
“We serve this community all year long,” Winfrey said. “If you want to continue to miss out on benefits you deserve, if you want to continue to lose rights that you have, then don’t vote. But, if you want this community and this society to look and operate in the way in which you want it to operate, then get up off your couch and vote,” Winfrey said. “When I tell you your vote is your voice, that’s not something I just say, that’s the truth.”
Winfrey added that she was upset about the city’s low voter turnout — only about 17% in the August primary — noting her office has spent “millions of dollars” on campaigns and events to encourage Detroiters to vote.
At least 1,600 residents voted early as of Thursday. Early voting began Saturday, Oct. 25 and will continue through Sunday, Nov. 2, allowing Detroiters to cast their ballots between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at designated voting centers. About 44,000 absentee ballots have been received, though officials anticipate receiving at least 60,000 total.
Early voting sites include:
Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact: dafana@freepress.com. Follow her: @DanaAfana.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Clerk Janice Winfrey expects 18-23% turnout for November election
Reporting by Dana Afana, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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