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Absentee voting more popular than in-person in Washtenaw County

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Josh Hakala
/
89.1 WEMU
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Washtenaw County is one of three counties in the state of Michigan where votes cast by absentee ballots outnumbered those cast in person.

Ever since no-excuse absentee voting was added to the state constitution in 2018, that method of casting a ballot has been very popular in Washtenaw County.

Out of the more than 182,000 votes cast during the general election, 53% of them were by absentee.

Ed Golembiewski is the Washtenaw County elections director.

“I think folks here in Washtenaw County find absentee voting to be convenient and, of course, secure, as it is everywhere throughout the state.”

Golembiewski says the passage of Proposal 2, which enshrined a number of election provisions into the state constitution, will likely help turnout, especially with the addition of nine days of early voting, which could potentially reduce wait times on Election Day.

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Josh Hakala is the general assignment reporter for the WEMU news department.
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