Brighton Clerks Predict Average Primary Voter Turnout

With the presidential primary election coming up next Tuesday, Brighton Patch got the City of Brighton and Township clerks to weigh in on their predictions for voter turnout.

Brighton Township Clerk Ann Bollin predicts the township will have between 20 to 25 percent voter turnout on Tuesday.

"That's the average voter turnout for a primary in Brighton Township," Bollin said. "That's high for a primary. Brighton Township typically shows up to vote. There's a lot of reasons."

Bollin said the state is predicting a 20 percent voter turnout for this primary, which is what City of Brighton Clerk Diana Lowe said she predicts for the city's turnout.

According to Bollin, Brighton Township has issued slightly more than 1,500 absentee ballots out of about 14,000 registered voters for this year's primary.

"The number of registered voters changes every single day, so it depends on the election," Bollin said about the number of absentee voters in the township. "We have a lot of snowbirds right now, so a lot of people are out of town."

The City of Brighton has issued 488 absentee ballots as of Wednesday morning, which is about average. Lowe said there won't be many more requests coming in.

Absentee voter ballots are available to residents for all elections and allow voters to cast a ballot without attending the polls on Election Day. 

Absentee ballots are available only to registered voters and only if they are:

• 60 years old or older
• unable to vote without assistance at the polls
• expecting to be out of town on election day
• in jail awaiting arraignment or trial
• unable to attend the polls due to religious reasons
• appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of your precinct of residence.

Absentee ballot requests must be made in writing and should be submitted to the City of Brighton or Township clerks. The latest an absentee ballot can be mailed out is Saturday at 2 p.m., so the written request would have to be received by then.

After receiving an absentee voter ballot, voters have until 8 p.m. on Election Day to complete the ballot and return it to the clerk's office.

Bollin said no absentee ballots get tabulated until Election Day and all of them get processed by 8 p.m. - when the polls close.

For more information on absentee ballots, visit the Michigan Voter Information Center.

Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Don't know where you're supposed to go to vote? Check out our list of voting locations and maps.