Absentee, In-Person, or Early? Here’s How Voters Turned Out in Local Mayoral Races
(Kurt Metzger, Nov. 26, 2023)
Oakland County, MI – A total of 14 mayoral races took place across Oakland County on November 7, 2023. The fact that a voter could only vote for one candidate allowed me to analyze the voting methods, in light of the increasing popularity of absentee voting and the introduction of an “early voting” test, that voters employed.
The final tally of the 3 methods across the 14 contests, showed that Absentee Voting was favored by 62 percent of voters; Election Day Voting by 36 percent; and, Early Voting by 2 percent.
The share of absentee voters varied across the 14 communities. As shown in the accompanying chart, three communities – Clawson, Royal Oak and Ferndale – saw more election day voters than absentee. On the other end of the spectrum were the three communities of Huntington Woods, Madison Heights and Troy, where more than 7 of 10 chose the absentee route.
In November 2022, Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that gives voters the right to vote early and in-person. The Oakland County Clerk’s Office chose to be a ‘test jurisdiction’ for the 9-day Early Voting period, providing both a central site and regional sites (with assigned communities).
In addition, Rochester Hills served as its own separate test site. While the final numbers were not large – Rochester Hills and Novi hit 4 percent, while the rest were 2 percent or less – the test was a success and expectations are very high for it to become popular method of voting in 2024.
Michigan’s political leadership and citizenry have been great advocates for increasing the options for voting. In this regard, we are one of the leaders across the country. Next year promises to bring a series of highly important races – President, House of Representatives, a U.S. Senator, state legislature and many, many more at the local level. Voters will have more options than ever before.
Yet our recent analysis also showed that low voter turnout rates continue in many communities. So whichever method you chose, please vote and encourage others to as well.
For more stories about the election and other interesting numbers, visit the Data-Based Stories Archives on Oakland County Times. Thanks to Data Expert Kurt Metzger for this work!
