Politics & Government

City Clerks Anticipate 20 Percent-30 Percent Primary Turnout

Farmington area absentee ballots roll in as Tuesday's partisan primary approaches.

More than 5,000 Farmington and Farmington Hills residents participating in the partisan primary Tuesday have already cast their votes by absentee ballot. 

In Farmington, the rate of return has been slower than expected, City Clerk Sue Halberstadt said. Of the 908 ballots sent out, 656 — or about 72 percent — have been returned. 

"It's definitely lower than it normally is," Halberstadt said.

Find out what's happening in Farmington-Farmington Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the 2008 presidential primary, Farmington's total voter turnout was 39 percent, but both parties had contested elections.

This year, while Republicans have 11 candidates for president on the ballot, Democrats have just one. Halberstadt said that makes it difficult to predict a turnout, but she guessed 20 percent to 25 percent. 

Find out what's happening in Farmington-Farmington Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In Farmington Hills, City Clerk Pam Smith said she's preparing for a 30 percent voter turnout, the same as in the 2008 primary. The city mailed out more than 6,700 ballots, and nearly 5,000, or about 73 percent, have been returned.

Smith said there was a "little bit of confusion" over the partisan absentee ballot applications. Voters had to ask for either a Democratic or Republican version of the ballot, and about 400 applications were sent back to voters who did not select a party. 

The partisan information is not kept in a voter's master file, Smith added.

Absentee ballots can be turned in at city halls before the election and may also be cast on election day. For information, visit fhgov.com or ci.farmington.mi.us.


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