Michigan voters speak out on absentee voting, election for governor

LANSING — For Troy resident Richard Peluso, a Republican, showing up at the polls on Election Day is part of one's civic duty, unless voters have good reasons why they can't.

For Oak Park resident Michelle Spencer, a Democrat who remembers waiting in line for hours to vote for former President Barack Obama in 2008, attacks on early voting and absentee voting are in many cases attempts to inconvenience and disenfranchise urban residents generally and Black voters specifically.

And for Julie Gavigan of Livonia, an independent voter who as of Tuesday was still wrestling with who to support in Michigan's race for governor, whether one votes absentee or at the polls is largely a matter of personal preference, especially with ongoing health concerns related to COVID-19.

The three Michigan voters were interviewed by the Free Press as part of an election special with Detroit Public Television's "One Detroit" program, which airs at 7 p.m. Thursday.

They each hold views about voting that mirror national trends. Democrats overwhelmingly support early voting and any-reason absentee voting, but Republican support for those election features has been declining.

Video produced by One Detroit Sr. Producer Bill Kubota

A 2021 study by the Pew Research Center found that 84% of Democrats support any-reason absentee voting, a percentage that is roughly unchanged from 2018. But the study found that only 38% of Republicans support the practice, down from 57% in 2018. Voters who did not clearly align with either political party were more evenly split on the issue.

Michigan voters approved any-reason absentee voting in a 2018 referendum, and Nov. 8 will be the first Michigan election for governor in which the feature is available. Michigan, technically, does not have early voting in which the polls are open on days prior to Election Day. But citizens can vote in person by absentee ballot, prior to Election Day, at their local clerk's office.

Polls show a tightening race between Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is seeking a second four-year term, and Republican challenger Tudor Dixon, who on Tuesday picked up a significant endorsement from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the state's most powerful business lobbying group. Many voters who view Whitmer and Dixon differently also disagree on issues related to how and when people should be allowed to vote.

For Peluso, who is retired from a company that supplied corporations with online modules for employee training, any-reason absentee voting has grown along with his concerns about election integrity. He said he also sees going to the polls as a form of civic duty and a way to see one's neighbors. Peluso, who turns 75 this year, said that even at the height of the pandemic, he and his wife masked up and voted in person.

"I think we've kind of degraded the whole voting process by extending the amount of time that you can vote," Peluso said.

"It's not that I disagree with absentee voting, to be used in the right way. Offshore military people or infirm, and sick and those kinds of situations. But anytime that you're going to take ballots over an extended period of time, it just makes me a tad concerned about the effectiveness and the legitimacy of those kinds of votes being cast."

Peluso feels the economy and his retirement investments were roaring along under former President Donald Trump and things took a sharp turn for the worse almost as soon as President Joe Biden took office. He feels that excess federal spending, including universal stimulus checks and partial forgiveness of student loan debt, are major reasons for persistent inflation. And at the state level, he feels Whitmer "blundered" by ordering too many businesses shut down during the pandemic for too long, and showed arrogance by not always observing the COVID-19 rules her own administration imposed.

More:Your guide to Michigan's ballot proposals for 2022 election

More:Michigan's candidates for governor: Where Gretchen Whitmer and Tudor Dixon stand

Spencer, a Democrat who is a retired customer service worker, said Trump's unsubstantiated allegations of fraud surrounding the 2020 presidential election are ridiculous, but they didn't surprise her, because Trump was already making allegations of fraud before the election even happened. She said attempts to curtail absentee voting disproportionately hurt urban residents because it is those residents who are most likely to have to stand in line and wait to cast ballots on Election Day.

"If you can deter Democratic votes, then who's going to win?" Spencer asked. "It's all done on purpose."

She said she is voting absentee in the Nov. 8 election because it is so much easier than standing in line, and because it is also safe and secure.

Spencer is Roman Catholic, and abortion rights are a major issue for her in the governor's race between Whitmer, who supports those rights, and Dixon, who does not. Spencer said abortions are going to happen regardless of what the law says, so it is better that they be legal and safe.

"No old man sitting in an office somewhere should be able to tell me what I can do with my own body," she said.

Gavigan, who considers herself "right in the middle" politically, but leaning conservative on economic issues, said she has not spent a lot of time worrying about the fraud allegations that were made in connection with the 2020 election, but she hopes that increased scrutiny will mean any shortcomings are addressed for 2022.

The claims were investigated, and "there is no need to keep drudging it back up," Gavigan said. "It's a waste of taxpayer money and time." She hopes that the fact allegations were made about 2020 will result in more checks and balances and more transparency for the current election.

Gavigan said she will vote absentee mainly because she has relatives and others she comes into contact with who are immuno-compromised and she does not want to do anything that unnecessarily puts them at risk.

On the governor's election, Gavigan, who has two school-age daughters, said she remains torn, even after watching both debates between Whitmer and Dixon.

She said she does not support Dixon's position on abortion, because she believes any abortion ban should have exceptions for cases of rape and incest. She said she will vote for Proposal 3, and if she knew it would pass, she would be more willing to vote for Dixon, knowing that she could not then impose a strict abortion ban in Michigan.

As for Whitmer, Gavigan is concerned about both pandemic money and social services money generally going to people who don't need it, who she believes are scamming the system.

She also has concerns about Whitmer's signature 2018 promise to "fix the damn roads," she said.

"I don't agree with her fixing all the roads all at once, I believe it should be done systematically so that we can at least maneuver around in some type of fashion where everybody is not confused and in a hurry."

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan voters speak out on absentee voting, governor's race