Since the August primary, 369 Brandon Township residents have become new registered voters.
Township Clerk Jeannie McCreery expects to process another 100 applications that arrived prior to the Oct. 6 deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 4 election.
‘I have never officially compared in the past, but I can tell (new registrations are) much higher than it’s ever been,? she said. ‘We can barely keep up… I think this is indicative of a real drive by the parties to get applications out there. We’re thrilled we’re getting the voters.?
Since the last presidential election four years ago, more than 50,000 people in Oakland County have become new registered voters. Half of those registered this year alone.
The numbers are surprising, says Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson, who notes the county has had a slight decline in population.
‘We are up to more than 907,000 registered voters here and we have a population of 1.2 million in the county,? she said. ‘Add to this that more than half the kids who graduate from college here are leaving the state for jobs. We are perplexed. Where are all the kids??
Johnson is pleased with the higher percentage of registered voters, but reminds new voters that if they signed up online or by mail and their identification has not been validated by a clerk yet, the first time they cast a ballot, they must go to the polls and show ID rather than vote absentee.
Additionally, the clerk’s office has received nearly 1,300 requests for absentee ballots with three weeks left until the election, almost totaling the number of absentee ballots issued in the 2004 election. They are currently processing 40-50 absentee ballots per day.
‘We’re excited about the number of college kids that have registered to vote and that are getting absentee ballots,? McCreery said. ‘Also, in the past we’ve received about five overseas absentee military ballots, this year we have about 50. The system we have in place makes it easier for them.?
The last day to request an absentee ballot by mail is Nov. 1. All absentee ballots must be returned by the close of the polls, 8 p.m. on Nov. 4.
Atlas Township Deputy Clerk Faith Woolley said she has not tracked all the new registrations but on the last day of voter registration, she received 23 new registrations, which she considers a high number for one day. She has also received more than 600 absentee ballot requests so far, whereas in the past she’s received about 300.
She attributes the higher numbers to it being a presidential election year and expects higher turnout, too.
‘We’re lucky to get 20 percent voter turnout on smaller elections,? she said. ‘The last presidential election we had 80 percent turnout and I expect at least that much this time. Atlas is known to have better than average turnout for all elections.?