Voter turnout from Tuesday's primary was higher than normal, day went smoothly
Update: This story has been updated with information about the number of absentee votes cast.
Voter turnout in the Tuesday primary was slightly higher than typical, Livingston County Clerk Elizabeth Hundley said, but there were few issues reported.
According to unofficial results from the clerk's website, 51,777 people voted — 32% of registered voters in Livingston County. In the 2018 primary mid-term election, 49,756 people voted, or 34% of registered voters.
There were 28,130 absentee ballots cast in Livingston County and 23,647 ballots cast by voters in person on election day.
Unadilla Township did not use a separate absentee voter counting board and results from Precinct 3 in Handy Township will all count as election day totals. Because of those two changes, absentee ballot counts and day-of ballot counts may be slightly different from the official election results, which will be certified either late Monday or on Wednesday.
Hundley said she received calls from people regarding issues they saw at voting places.
She said one man was reported when he went to vote while wearing a MAGA hat and a Donald Trump shirt. He was asked to take off his hat and turn his shirt inside out.
Hundley said is wasn't an issue because Donald Trump was not on the ballot.
The feedback is helpful, though, because it helps Hundley determine what training she should conduct with clerks before the November mid-term general election.
"We learn from every election," she said.
In addition to many people voting in person, about 86% of absentee ballots that were sent out to Livingston County residents were returned.
Throughout election day, she traveled to 10 local clerks' offices to see how things were going.
There were some small technology issues throughout the day, in which a couple jurisdictions has issues with the electronic pollbooks (EPB) and had to start using paper.
On Thursday, the Livingston County Board of Canvassers convened at the Livingston County Clerk's Office in Howell to certify the local tallies from election night, which is a normal process for elections.
"We're just in the process of checks and balances to ensure that we are accurately reflecting the results of this election so far," Hundley said.
The Michigan Secretary of State website reports that election results are usually certified about three weeks after an election.
Sophia Lada is a reporter for the Livingston Daily. Contact her at slada@gannett.com or 517.377.1065. Follow her on Twitter @sophia_lada.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Aug. 2 primary turnout was higher than normal
