MUSKEGON, Mich. — Election security seemed top of mind to many Michigan voters, who will decide a number of consequential races next week — from who will assume the governorship to a raft of proposed constitutional amendments.
Muskegon County Clerk Nancy Waters said her office was busy in the run-up to election day verifying individual municipalities would be in compliance with state and federal regulations.
“In this county at this time, we've not heard of any issues,” Waters said.
Waters’ office said it was keeping close tabs on voter registration data and had been tracking trends since the August primary.
“133,000 that were registered for August and now it's up to 144,000,” she noted. “We have no idea what’s going to happen. Next Tuesday could be a bigger turnout than we’re even expecting.”
The Ottawa County Clerk’s Office held a series of informational town halls throughout the month of October.
“We've really been prepping for November 8 in a number of different ways since the beginning of this year,” Roebuck said. “We're feeling good.”
Many of the questions submitted by viewers, Clerk Justin Roebuck said, centered on election security and the protocols in place to ensure the count’s integrity.
“A lot of information and a lot of unfortunately, misinformation that's been circulating about certain aspects of the election process,” he noted. “I think another thing that a lot of voters just aren't aware of is how many steps go into the election process and how much of it is done in bipartisan teams.”
Roughly 50% of Ottawa County voters are expected to vote absentee.
A common, persistent misconception, Roebuck said, involves the use of ballot dropboxes.
“Clerks across Michigan... have had drop boxes for years,” Roebuck explained. “They are safe and secure. Any dropbox installed after October of 2020 is actually required to be under video surveillance as well.”
Another claim from the rumor mill in the aftermath of the 2020 election had some—particularly Arizonans—questioning whether using Sharpies to mark their ballots had invalidated them.
“The quick answer to that is Sharpies are completely fine to mark your ballot with,” he said. “In fact, they're actually a preferred method of marking your ballot if you're actually in the precinct.”
Roebuck and Waters suggested existing election security measures and the bipartisan nature of the process should give voters confidence in the race’s outcome.
Both also emphasized the need to return absentee ballots on time and approach local clerks, many of whom will hold extended office hours the weekend prior to election day, with any questions or concerns.
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