EAST LANSING, Mich. — In light of several requests from media, the East Lansing City Clerk’s office is providing the following voter turnout statistics related to yesterday’s Presidential Primary Election in East Lansing.
- A total of 4,132 absentee voter (AV) ballots were issued and 3,826 were returned (93 percent).
- A total of 394 AV ballots were spoiled (145 of these were due to the replacement ballots that were issued to Precinct 17 voters with the Intermediate School District ballot item).
- 177 total voter registrations and AV ballots issued at the City Clerk’s office on Monday, March 9.
- 714 same-day voter registrations and 572 AV ballots were issued at the City Clerk’s office on Tuesday, March 10.
- There were a total of 10,829 voters (both AV and precinct) and a 41 percent overall voter turnout.
- Other unofficial results can be found on the Ingham County Clerk’s website: cl.ingham.org.
The City Clerk’s office, located at East Lansing City Hall, did start to experience a surge of college students registering to vote and voting absentee on Monday, March 9, when the students returned from MSU’s spring break. There were 177 voters at City Hall on Monday and 572 total voters at City Hall on Election Day. All voters in line at 8 pm on Election Day were afforded the right to register to vote and vote an AV ballot. That voting wrapped up at 10:45 p.m.
“I was pleased with the student turnout on Election Day; however, I will continue to push for voter education on the option to register to vote online, to register prior to the two weeks before the election so the in-person requirement can be avoided and to vote absentee and have that ballot mailed to residences and even temporary addresses.” said Clerk Shuster. “While additional legislation to support local clerks to effectively conduct elections continues and our plans increase for future elections, we also encourage people to sign up to work as election inspectors. It is an important part of democracy, now more than ever, as voters become more and more engaged.”
Learn more about signing up to be a paid election inspector for the City of East Lansing and apply online at https://www.cityofeastlansing.com/1902/Election-Inspectors.
“I am proud of the collaboration that took place on Election Day between the City of East Lansing, Ingham County and the State of Michigan to serve voters,” said Shuster. “Despite the long line at City Hall, voters - many voting for the very first time - received a positive experience and were vocally grateful. The issue of long lines was not unique to the City of East Lansing, as other college towns such as Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids reported the same challenges on Election Day. I look forward to working with them and those at the local, county and state level for future election efficiency.”