Voters will be able to cast ballots nine days early

By Don Rush
Managing Editor, and
Jim Newell
Review Editor
OAKLAND COUNTY — Voters in Orion, Oxford and Addison Townships will be able to vote in-person nine days before elections, and Orion Township has been selected as the regional voting hub.
“The voters from those communities will come to Orion Township and vote nine days early voting. We thought that was best for the community and (Oxford and Addison clerks) were very grateful that we were willing to host it because we have the room at the new Orion Township Municipal Complex,” Orion Township Clerk Penny Shults said. “It was a win-win for everybody.”
New election laws were enacted to accommodate the voter-approved Proposal 2 from last November’s General Election. One of the changes to the Michigan Constitution mandates a minimum of nine days early voting.
This process is only applicable for the nine days of early voting. Election day and absentee ballots remain local.
To make this easier on local clerks, Oakland County Elections Division proposed interlocal agreements and having communities join together as a cost-saving endeavor and ensure uniformity throughout the county. This is an option in the state constitution and state law.
“Proposal 2022-2 increased the responsibilities of clerks statewide when conducting an election,” Oxford Township Clerk Curtis Wright said. “One of the provisions of Proposal 2022-2, which is now Michigan Constitutional law, is the allowance for a registered Michigan voter a minimum nine days to vote in all future elections. Because of several factors involved, including but limited to finding suitable location and cost, to accomplish this nine day early voting option, Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown has agreed to have regional voting locations which will allow neighboring communities to have a single location in each region to accommodate the voter who wants to take advantage of voting up to nine days early.”
All registered voters in Orion, Oxford and Addison townships will be able to vote early at the Orion Township Municipal Complex, 2323 Joslyn Rd. The absentee voter process will function exactly as it has in the past and election day precincts and voting process will be the same as it has always been, Shults said.
“What we believe will take place – we haven’t firmed up everything yet – tentatively, the nine days of early voting would end on the Sunday before the election. So, the election is (November) seventh, but the nine days would end on the fifth of November. So, it would be the nine days preceding that with the exception of Sunday, Oct. 29,” Shults said, adding that tentatively early voting could start on Oct. 26.
The benefit for the local communities is that the election equipment will be paid for by Oakland County and the results will be standardized.
“They will provide all the equipment, they will provide all the training (for election inspectors), they will provide the ballots and they will oversee the entire process. We basically will be the host for the regional voting,” Shults said. “We’re going to provide some of our election inspectors and some of our resources, too, but the county wants it to be uniformly across the county and that’s why they’re setting up these regional nine days of early voting.”
“It’s a lot to ask a municipal clerk to run nine days of early voting and get ready for these huge presidential elections that are coming up. We don’t have unlimited resources in workers, but the county has the ability to put a workforce in place for us,” Shults said.
The hope is that election day voting, absentee voting and now the nine days early voting will increase voter turnout.
“It makes it convenient for the voters because people have busy lives, but we sure want them to vote. We want 100 percent turnout,” Shults said. “This will give options to our voters as to when they’re able to get in and vote. Plus, there will be weekend hours for people who need that. It’s a phenomenal service that (Oakland County) is offering, and we’re so grateful,” Shults said.