Early voting for Aug. 6 primary begins Saturday at Dearth Center

Don Reid, Coldwater Daily Reporter
·2 min read

BRANCH COUNTY — The constitutionally mandated nine days of early voting for the Aug. 6 Michigan primary election begins Saturday, July 27, at Coldwater's Dearth Center for all of Branch County.

Branch County Clerk Terry Kubasiak said, "This is the same plan we used in February that was successful."

Early voting in February at the Dearth Center did not draw big crowds.
Early voting in February at the Dearth Center did not draw big crowds.

Ten poll workers and inspectors staff the center from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. for nine days ending Aug. 4 to allow those who could not or did not want to cast their ballot in the Republican or Democratic primary on Tuesday, Aug. 6 to vote.

Each of the 16 townships, Quincy, Bronson, and the four Coldwater wards will staff the center.

With winter residents back, Kubasiak expects more voters this election.

"If we find that it's picking up interest and more people are coming, then maybe in November, we may have more staff," Kubasiak.

Rather than pre-print necessary ballots, ballots for each precinct can be printed on-demand at the polling site.

Kubasiak said all the issues and candidates are on one ballot. "You still have to choose which party you're going to vote with, but it's all on one ballot."

Voters decide whether to vote in the Democratic or Republican primary. Since only Republicans seek office on the county level, many who identify as Democrats vote in the August Republican primary.

That means they cannot vote in the only Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, with both parties deciding in August who will face off in November to replace retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

The Branch County Fair Board is renovating the Dearth Center before the Aug. 4 fair.

County clerk Terry Kubasiak is ready for the early voting and Aug. 6 primary.
County clerk Terry Kubasiak is ready for the early voting and Aug. 6 primary.

Kubasiak does not see a problem. "We're going down there Friday to start getting things set up. We'll see what's going on then. They knew we were going to be in there for the nine days."

The Branch County Fair starts Sunday, Aug. 4, the last day of early voting.

The clerk said, "They didn't see that it would be a problem. We don't anticipate it's going to be any issue."

Coldwater's four wards vote in the Dearth Center. Clerk Shauna Chavez said the city held elections before during a fair.

Chavez said the city rearranged how the polls are set up on the north side of the Dearth Center.

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Voters passed the nine-day early voting in November 2020 as part of Proposition 2, a constitutional amendment to election laws.

— Contact Don Reid: dReid@Gannett.com 

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Branch County early nine day voting Dearth Center July 27