The election process barely skipped a beat duing a brief power outage in precincts 8 and 9 Tuesday.
That’s the word from Orion Township Clerk Penny Shults, who said quick work kept everything rolling along smoothly.
‘It was pretty exciting to see everyone pull together to make sure our election went well,? said Shults, noting generators and lights were delivered quickly by the township fire department, parks and rec and the friend of an election inspector.
Across its 14 precincts, Orion Township election saw 28.6 percent of its 24,672 registered voters turn out to vote.
Of those, 5,531 cast Republican ballots and 1,305 deferred to the Democrats. Another 221 voted only on nonpartisan issues, and 143 ballots were deemed invalid for crossed parties.
Orion Township resident Jim Marleau walked away with a victory Tuesday, earning the right to represent the GOP in a bid for State Senate, 12th District in the November election. Marleau, a third-term state representative, earned 31.94 percent of the vote amongst 33,430 ballots cast.
Kim Russell took 24.48 percent of votes in that race while Copper Rizzo received 22.83 percent.
Marleau, who won every precinct in Orion, will square off against Democrat Casandra Ulbrich in November.
Oxford resident and 1st District County Commissioner Brad Jacobsen won the GOP nod for State Rep, 46th District, earning 52.40 percent of votes cast over 12,577 ballots. Daniel Myslakowski received 30.10 percent of voter nods in that race.
Jacobsen, who won all precincts in Orion, with the exception of precincts 5 and 7, which were taken by Myslakowski, will face off against Democrat David Lillis in November.
Running unopposed on the Republican side of the ballot, incumbent 3rd Distrct County Commissioner Michael J. Gingell took 99.45 percent of 7082 ballots cast, while write-ins accounted for the other .55 percent ? or 39 ballots.
Countywide, the Oakland County Parks millage renewal earned a ‘yes? vote from 76.46 percent of voters.
Of 6774 Orionites who voted on the parks proposal, a slightly lower percentage ? 74.43 percent ? said yes.
With the Aug. 3 primary election behind her, Shults said she and her staff have their eye on the November General Election.
‘Everyone ? all my staff, all our election workers ? are dedicated to the process and want to do an outstanding job for the community,? Shults said. ‘We didn’t have the problems other communities had. It’s phenomenal the way everyone works so well together.?