High voter turnout in Michigan primary fueled by certain races, early and absentee voting, officials say
Unofficial election results show an impressive turnout in Michigan's midterm primary election.
Election leaders told CBS News Detroit that it has a lot to do with what people were voting for and how they voted.
Several county clerks in Southeast Michigan say the state's U.S. Senate and governor's races motivated many voters to head to the polls, but it's early, and absentee voting also contributed to the high turnout.
"I think we're going to see more voters, over time, use early voting. I think you're going to continue to see a good amount of voters utilize absentee ballots," said Livingston County Clerk Elizabeth Hundley.
Thirty-six percent of voters in Livingston County filled out a ballot for the primaries. Nearly two-thirds of them voted absentee or early, according to the county's website.
Washtenaw County had over 30,000 more votes in this year's primary than it did in both 2024 and 2022. Sixty-two percent of those voters also chose absentee and early voting methods, according to results on the county website.
"People who get the ballot in the mail, they might not have known there was an election going on, or they might have forgotten about it, but the ballot shows up in the mail, and the majority of them will vote. That has really boosted the turnout," said Washtenaw County Clerk Larry Kestenbaum.
Absentee and early voting accounted for 59% of ballots in Oakland County, where 36% of registered voters participated in the primary, according to county data.
"That was a new [primary] record for us. The last time was 2018 with 34%. But there was a lot going on with our ballot and a lot of high-profile races," said Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown.
Since 2018, Michigan voters no longer need a reason to request an absentee ballot, and since 2024, they have been able to vote in person ahead of election day.
"The ease of being able to vote early, I think, is increasing the popularity of voting in general, and that's why the numbers are starting to tick up," said Democratic political strategist Greg Bowens.
Bowens says it will be interesting to see how rising absentee and early voting numbers will affect the races in November, with those voters historically leaning Democratic.
