Absentee votes coming in slowly in some areas ahead of Election Day

Posted at 5:42 PM, Nov 02, 2022
and last updated 2022-11-02 18:25:32-04

DETROIT (WXYZ) — Early voting is underway nationwide with people steadily turning in absentee ballots. But in the city of Detroit as well as other areas, absentee ballots are coming in slowly.

Carolyn Clifford was out in the community talking to people and experts about why tens of thousands of ballots are still out. Tindal Recreation Center is one of 20 places where Detroiters can drop off their absentee ballots safely and securely.

Today, in the New Center area, a lot of people were steadily coming to drop off their absentee ballots at the drop box right outside the city clerk's office on West Grand Boulevard.

As of today, Detroit has nearly 510,000 registered voters, according to the city clerk's office. They’ve issued more than 82,000 Absentee ballots. They expect to count roughly 75,000 absentee ballots.

I spoke to several Detroiters who were voting early today to get the pulse of the people.

City Clerk Janice Winfrey who has her hands full making sure everything goes right during this midterm election cycle.

So far 58,000 absentee ballots have been turned in in the city of Detroit.

Based on the last two voting cycles 50% of people have voted by absentee ballot and 50% at the precinct.

At the Tindal Recreation Center, you can do both. The drop box is secure and has round-the-clock security. This is one of 20 drop boxes in the city. Two are in each city council district. We're told it gets really busy in the evening when people get off work.