MUSKEGON, Mich. — City leaders in Muskegon were thrilled to learn this week the city received a $433,580 grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life to cover the cost of election-related expenses.
Muskegon Clerk Ann Meisch says the grant didn't require any local matching funds.
The grant will cover additional services and items related to the Nov. 3 election.
The money is included in $250 million in grant dollars available to all U.S. local election jurisdictions from the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL).
According to CTCL, the grants to local election jurisdictions is to be used to help ensure proper staffing, training and equipment for the November election so every eligible voter can participate in a safe and timely way and have their vote counted.
Muskegon's grant will cover the cost of a new $100,000 high-speed vote tabulator, a media campaign to encourage voters to send in absentee ballots no later than two weeks before Nov. 3, new election booths at every precinct, and provide a one-time pay increase for poll workers.
"We're going to be able to increase their pay by $5.00 an hour," Meisch said.
The city will also use the grant to add additional ballot drop boxes around the community.
Meisch is excited to attempt a first for the area: drive-thru voting.
"So you could come up in your vehicle and not even get out of your car and be able to vote your ballot right there from the comfort of your vehicle," Meisch said. "We're going to be looking for models of who does it, and who does it well."
Meisch hopes to have the drive-thru voting option available at the city's busiest precincts.
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