GR city clerk: Primary means you have to choose a ballot
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan’s presidential primary, set for Feb. 27, is a little more than a month out. Some of our viewers who received an absentee ballot request form in the mail earlier this month were surprised to learn that they have to select either a Democratic or Republican ballot in order to vote.
Michigan law dictates a presidential primary preference, Grand Rapids City Clerk Joel Hondorp said. The same rule does not apply to the general election.
“There will be separate ballots (for the primary). It’s a preference,” Hondorp said. “So we don’t register by party in Michigan. We won’t make you a member of the party just because of what you choose.”
How does Michigan’s presidential primary work?
Also, early voting will be new this year for the presidential primary after the passage of Proposal 2 back in 2022.
“We’re going to have nine days of early voting, starting two Saturdays before the election through the Sunday through the election,” Hondorp said. “For a voter, basically, it’s just going to feel like you’re going to your precinct.”
For those who live in a school district that has a millage on its ballot next month, like Kentwood Public Schools, voters can also opt to solely vote on the millage and not the political candidates.
“So those Republican and Democratic ballots will also have the school issue on it as well,” Hondorp said. “But if someone, for example, is truly an independent or a third-party person and doesn’t want to participate in this election, they can get a third ballot style.”
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