Today, August 2nd, 2016 is primary election day – there are candidates and issues on the ballot. You can visit this link to search for what your ballot looks like and be prepared before walking into the polls.
https://webapps.sos.state.mi.us/MVIC/votersearch.aspx
If you are not registered or need to update your voter registration use the link below and visit REGISTER TO VOTE link on the left to update your information. All registrations and changes must be completed by October 11, 2016 to be valid for the November 8, 2016 general election.
Your Primaries Ballot
The ballot will have several sections and you are encouraged to visit each section and vote within it.
- Partisan Candidates for Office – this section is split Republican Party on left and Democratic Party on right. There are office subsections which state “vote for not more than 1” in the section. Some offices have multiple offices up for vote. You can fill in the oval next the names you wish elected, up to the limit for that office’s subsection.
Note: The subsections will be listed from federal office to state, then county and finally municipality or authority. - Nonpartisan Section – judicial and municipal offices are listed here. In Detroit there is a partial term for City Council open, which ends January 1, 2018. All City Council seats will be up for election next year, 2017.
- Proposal Section – proposals at the state, county, and municipal level are in this section. In Wayne County there are two millages on the ballot. The language as approved is on the ballot.
- Parks Millage Continuation
- Zoological Authority Renewal Millage
The resulting candidates from this primary election will be in the general election’s ballot for election day on November 8, 2016. If only one person is running you can chose either to vote for them or not to do so. Voting FOR someone demonstrates you support putting that person into the office. So even if a candidate is running unopposed their popularity in the election can be measured.
Voter Guides, Slates, and more
There are many groups offering voter guides and slates of candidates and/or positions on proposals. Reading more than one guide is very helpful as the group creating these guides often has a bias in how the guide is prepared and/or presented.