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The Senior Vote: How Big Will It Be In Michigan?

Bob Eccles

Seniors could play an especially big role in upcoming election

Michiganders age 50 and over are expected to represent well over half of the voters that show up to the polls on November 4th.

That is pretty typical of a non-presidential election. But seniors and retirees are already playing an especially important role in this year's election.

Perry Seavitt, a 70 year old retired teacher from Freemont, considers himself a Republican. But he is not sure which candidate for governor will get his vote. He says he is leaning toward Democrat Mark Schauer because incumbent Gov. Rick Snyder decided to start taxing retiree pensions.

"I've heard that, over TV, that the one candidate wants to get rid of that, which, I'm in favor of that," he said.

AARP Michigan expects 60 percent of all voters on November 4th to be over age 50.

"It's a huge deal to reach out to that constituency," said spokesperson Mark Hornbeck, "because they're dedicated voters and they make up such a large percentage of the overall electorate."

That is one reason Democrats are focusing much of their message on the "pension tax."