Tuesday, August 6th is primary election day across Michigan. 2024 is the first year of early voting statewide, and Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons says that meant putting out a call to recruit more election workers.
“Election inspectors are Republican and Democratic, so we have bipartisan election inspectors in each precinct, each early voting site, and each absentee counting board. Here in Kent County, we have anywhere between 1500 and 2000 election inspectors that are trained, and we deploy at the local level.”
For clerks, elections start months in advance of election day as staff prepares ballots, proofreads them, and tests election equipment to be sure its functioning properly, counting accurately and is essentially zeroed out before tabulating begins – all of which the pubic is invited to watch. Posthumus Lyons says the best way for voters to have confidence in their elections is to participate themselves.
“It starts with transparency, and I want to roll the red carpet out for voters to participate in their elections at every phase. Don’t just take my word for it – go watch the equipment be tested, observe in the polls on election day or in the counting boards, and watch how the county canvass plays out to verify results are accurate.”
You can register to vote at your clerk’s office right until polls close on Election Day. Absentee ballots can be mailed, placed in an area drop box or hand delivered to the clerk’s office where Posthumus Lyons says you can also sign up to volunteer for November.
“We are definitely always working and always preparing for the next election.”
