GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — One week out from Iowa's first-in-the-nation presidential nominating contest, the decision from Iowa voters is likely to set the stage for what or who voters can expect for Michigan's primary next month.
Local clerks in Michigan have been working to ensure the election is ready to go and voters know what's different about this primary.
"This primary is a little bit different than what we have for other primary elections," Grand Rapids City Clerk Joel Hondorp told 13 ON YOUR SIDE last week.
Some changes will be those that happen every four years here in Michigan.
"Voters have to choose either a Democratic or Republican ballot," Hondorp said.
"Normally, in a primary primary election, you have both parties on the ballot, and you have to just choose- you're choosing one lane, you can't cross over," Hondorp said. "But for this election, you have to actually mark a box - either you want a Republican or a Democratic ballot, or if there's a third option, like if there's a school millage."
Others will be entirely new, starting with an earlier date.
Where presidential preference primaries have traditionally been held in March, state lawmakers passed legislation in 2023 to move the state's primary up to Feb. 27.
This will also be the first time all voters statewide will have the opportunity to cast early ballots in person for at least nine days, ending the Sunday before Election Day.
"You can go to early voting sites starting February 17 through February 25," Hondorp said.
"In the city of Grand Rapids, we're going to have three voting sites that are available," Hondorp said. "You can go to our website and check out where those are, and any voter in the city of Grand Rapids can go to any one of those three voting sites over those nine days."
But while that number of sites and days may be the case for Grand Rapids, other municipalities, Hondorp explained, could have different numbers of sites and possibly even more days of early voting, dependent on where you live and vote.
"Different counties, different cities are going to have different rules, different amount of sites," Hondorp said. "So, you're going to want to do your research ahead of time."
Hondorp encouraged voters wanting to know more about where exactly they can go to vote and how to do so to check with their local clerk's office or go to Michigan.gov/vote.
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