In both Oxford and Addison townships, the number of folks who have requested to vote via absentee ballot has sky-rocketed over the last presidential election. Ballots for the November 3 election were sent out last week.
In Oxford, absentee ballots were mailed to 6,150 Oxford Township and Village residents who requested them.
According to C.J. Carnacchio, Communications and Grants Manager for Oxford Township, in 2016 there were 3,234 absentee ballots requested for the November election.
“There are currently 17,259 registered voters in Oxford, so 35.6 percent requested absentee ballots,” he said.
“Hats off to the hard-working and dedicated Oxford Township Clerk’s Office for pulling off this Herculean task. They worked their fingers to the bone to make this happen. The community should be proud of them,” he posted on social media.
Volunteers who helped the Clerk’s office included Oxford High School students Mae Clark, Mayli Hurin, Allison Booth, Catalina Ifkovits, Martha Wolf, Emma Smillie, Abigail Walters and Claire Spindler; township trustee Jack Curtis and Parks/Rec. Director Ron Davis.
A little to the east in Addison Township, Clerk Pauline Bennett shared similar large absentee ballot numbers.
She reported that through last Thursday (Sept. 24), out of the 5,119 registered voters in Addison, 2,046 absentee ballots — nearly 40 percent — were issued. In 2016, the number was 875.
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According to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office, statewide, more than 2.39 million absentee ballots have already requested – more than ever before – and when voters receive their ballots they are encouraged to fill them out, sign the back of the return envelope, and as soon as possible place them in the mail or hand-deliver them to their clerk’s office or ballot drop box.
“Voters who intend to cast absentee ballots but have not already requested them are encouraged to do so immediately,” Benson said in a press release.
According to the Oxford Township website, “Requests to have an absent voter ballot mailed to you must be received by your clerk no later than 5 p.m., the Friday before the election. If you’re already registered at your current address, you can request an absent voter ballot in person at your clerk’s office anytime up to 4 p.m. on the day prior to the election. If you’re registering to vote or updating your address by appearing at your clerk’s office on Election Day, you can request an absent voter ballot at the same time you register. If you request your AV ballot the day before the election or on Election Day, you must vote the ballot in the clerk’s office.”
— Don Rush