Thousands of voters to receive new ballots after omission of Belleville library board races
Thousands of absentee voters in three Southeast Michigan communities will soon receive replacement ballots in the mail after the omission of local library board candidates was noticed.
The matter involves the Belleville Area District Library Board portion of the ballots provided to registered absentee voters in the Wayne County communities of the City of Belleville, Sumpter Township and Van Buren Township, according to Sumpter Township officials.
The two library board races that were left off featured unopposed candidates, according to a sample ballot search on Michigan.gov/vote.
All three municipalities are served by the Belleville Area District Library, which was organized in 2010 after splitting off from the Wayne County Library System. The main branch is in Belleville, and a satellite branch is in Sumpter Township. A sample ballot search for Belleville Precinct 1 shows that one person is on the ballot for a partial term ending in 2028 (Linda Green Priest), and four people are on the ballot for four terms that run four years each (Daniel R. Fleming, Shekitra Green, Thays Harris, and Sharon C. Peters). The board has a total of seven members.
While the exact number of printed absentee ballots is not yet available, it could be close to 10,000.
The Michigan Voting Dashboard, run by the Secretary of State, shows that as of the August 2026 primary, there were 9,965 registered voters among those three municipalities on the state's permanent vote-by-mail list. Voters also can opt into absentee voting on a one-time basis.
Local election clerks in Michigan began sending absentee ballots to registered voters on Sept. 24, after the absentee voting season for the Nov. 3 midterm election began. In their notice, Sumpter Township officials described the circumstances as a printing error and omission that they learned about on Sept. 28 from the Wayne County elections staff.
"A corrected absentee ballot will be mailed as soon as the new ballots are printed," Sumpter Township said. "When you receive a new ballot in the mail, please watch for additional instructions included with your ballot."
Van Buren Township officials also say that corrected ballots will be mailed as soon as the new ballots are printed.
CBS Detroit has reached out to the Wayne County elections office for comment, and has yet to receive a response.
Absentee voting has become a popular option in Michigan in recent years, with the Secretary of State reporting that nearly as many voters in the November 2024 general election submitted absentee ballots as chose to vote on Election Day.
The above video originally aired on Sept. 22, 2026.
