Tag Archives: November

Tips on voting in the mid-term election

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, Election, Hard News, ,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
WKTV Managing Editor
joanne@wktv.org

Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 8. (Pxhere.com)

In only a few days, the mid-term elections will be taking place which means many residents will be heading to the polls.

For those heading to the polls to vote in-person, Kentwood City Clerk Dan Kasunic reminds them that the state went though a redistricting. Some residents’ precincts or voting locations might have changed for that reason. Residents should have received a new voter information card from their municipality earlier this year. 

Voters should review their voter card to make sure they are heading to the right voting location, Kasunic said.

Voters can also find their voting location and a sample ballot at Michigan Voter Information Center.

Voting in Person

Voters do not need their voter card to vote. The resident must be registered to vote. If a voter has a photo ID, such as a state ID or driver’s license, he/she should bring it with him/her. Those who do not have such an ID  will sign the affidavit on the back of the application to vote.

 

The election worker will verify your information matches the details in the e-pollbook. Once verified, the voter will be issues a ballot.

 

On the City of Wyoming’s website, it does state that residents should leave any political material at home. This would include political hats, shirts, masks, or brochures. These items are considered campaigning and it is illegal within 100 feet of the precinct location.

Poll locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on day of the election, Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Absentee Voting

It is past the time to get an absentee ballot in the mail. Residents may come to a city clerk’s office to get an absentee ballot. Registered voters have up until 4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7, to request an absentee ballot.

All absentee ballots must be returned to the person’s municipality by 8 p.m . Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Kasunic noted that those planning to mail their absentee ballot should have done so by Oct. 31. At this time, voters should hand-deliver their absentee ballot to the clerk’s office at the Kentwood City Hall, 4900 Breton Ave. SE, during regular business hours or use the 24-hour drop boxes located at city hall and the Kentwood Activities Center, 355 44th St. SE.

Wyoming residents can also hand-deliver an absentee ballot to the clerk’s office at Wyoming City Hall 155 28th St. SW., or use Wyoming’s 24-hour drop off box also located at city hall.

Residents can check on the status of their absentee ballot by visiting Michigan Voter Information Center.

Register to Vote

Due to the 2018 changes in voting, residents are able to register to vote up to and on the day of election. In order to vote in a Michigan election, you must:

Be a U.S. citizen

18-years-old when you vote

Be a resident of Michigan when you register

Be a resident of the city or township for at least 30 days when you vote

Not currently be serving a sentence in jail or prison. 

Residents registering to vote must bring proof of residency

Those registering on the day of the election may either get an absentee ballot and vote at the clerk’s office or drive to their designated polling location to vote.

 

Only those residents registering to vote or changing their address may request and receive an absentee ballot on the day of election.

Both clerk offices will be open Saturday

Both the Wyoming and Kentwood clerk offices will be open this Saturday to help with voting and absentee ballots.

 

The Kentwood city clerk’s office will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 pm. Saturday. Otherwise the Kentwood clerk’s office is open 7:30 a.m – 4:30 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays; 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays; and 7:30 a.m. to noon Fridays.

 

The Wyoming city clerk’s office also will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The regular hours for the Wyoming clerk’s office is 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Thursday and closed on Friday.

Both clerk offices will be open until 8 p.m. on election day, Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Redistricting, retirements mean less clout in Congress

3-bottom, Election, gov-order, West Michigan, , , ,

By Eric Freedman
Capital News Service

LANSING – Regardless of which candidates win the November election for Michigan’s congressional seats and which party secures control of Congress, two important changes will be visible on Capitol Hill in January with serious implications for the state’s national clout.

First, Michigan’s delegation will shrink by one seat – from 14 to 13 – due to redistricting.

That’s because Michigan’s population stagnated during the past decade while the population of other states grew. In total, seven states are each losing one seat, including neighboring Ohio, with their reallocation to states in the West and South.

That grim reality sets a messy stage for the second major change: the departure of at least three familiar faces.

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, Michigan’s longest-serving representative, will not run for another term.
U.S. House of Representatives: U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, Michigan’s longest-serving representative, will not run for another term.

Redistricting led U.S. Rep. Benda Lawrence, a liberal Democrat from Southfield, to retire rather than seek a fifth term. She’s the only African American in the Michigan delegation and a member of the powerful Appropriations Committee.

“As we have a new redistricting map, a new generation of leaders will step up,” Lawrence said in announcing her decision.

Redistricting also induced U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, the state’s longest-serving member, to withdraw from a contentious primary with fellow U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga of Zeeland. Redistricting put the two conservatives into the same district.

Upton, now in his 18th term, chaired the Energy and Commerce Committee when the GOP controlled the House.

But he faced a steep uphill battle to stay in Congress because of his vote to impeach then-President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Huizenga.

Announcing his retirement on the House floor, Upton said, “Even the best of stories has a last chapter.

“This is it for me. I’ve done the zillions of airline miles back and forth, have signed ‘Fred’ to over a million letters, cast more votes than anyone in this chamber while here and, by most accounts, have succeeded in making a difference accomplishing what I have set out to do with more unfinished work still yet to come.”

In suburban Detroit, liberal U.S. Reps. Haley Stevens of Rochester Hills and Andy Levin of Bloomfield Township are fighting each other in the Aug. 2 Democratic primary. Both chair subcommittees, Stevens in the Science, Space and Technology Committee and Levin in the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Only one will survive the primary.

Bill Ballenger, the publisher of the political newsletter “Ballenger Report” and a former state legislator and Cabinet member, said the changes will make it tougher for Michigan when it comes to federal appropriations, COVID relief and other aid from Washington.

U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield, will not seek a fifth term after redistricting.
U.S. House of Representatives: U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield, will not seek a fifth term after redistricting.

“It’s got to hurt the state’s ability to leverage influence in the Congress in the state’s direction,” said Ballenger, who once ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House in a Republican primary.

He said the state’s clout is already much weaker than in the 1990s and early 2000s when the delegation contained long-serving members who chaired powerful committees and subcommittees, U.S. Reps. John Dingell of Trenton, Dale Kildee of Flint and John Conyers Jr. of Detroit.

Upton and Lawrence are far from alone in stepping down. As of April 6, 48 House members had announced they aren’t running again, according to Ballotpedia.org.

The average two-year election cycle sees 71 House members leaving, the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service said in a recent report.

“Members leave for a variety of reasons,” the report said. “Those could include resignation, death or chamber action,” a reference to expulsion for misconduct. The number includes defeated incumbents and ones who opted to seek other offices.

In addition, there’s no guarantee that voters will return all the state’s other incumbents to Washington.

Incumbent Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Detroit and GOP Reps. John Moolenaar of Midland, Peter Meijer of Grand Rapids, Tim Walberg of Tipton and Lisa McClain of Romeo all face primary opponents.

 

Neither of the state’s Democratic senators, Debbie Stabenow of Lansing or Gary Peters of Bloomfield Township, are up for reelection this year.

Eric Freedman is professor of journalism and former associate dean of International Studies and Programs. During his 20-year newspaper career, he covered public affairs, environmental issues and legal affairs for newspapers in New York and Michigan, winning a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of a legislative corruption scandal. He teaches environmental journalism and serves as director of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. He also teaches public affairs reporting, international journalism, feature writing and media law and serves as director of the school’s Capital News Service

Kent County Board of Commissioners approves new probate judgeship

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By WKTV Staff
joanne@wktv.org

Kent County residents will be electing a new probate judge this falls as the Kent County Board of Commissioners recently voted to add one new probate judge position.

The Kent County Commissioners has decided to add a fifth judgeship to the probate court. (Supplied)

“Our current judiciary staff is hard-working, but the work and time needed to handle the high caseloads was not sustainable,” said Kent County Board of Commissioners Chair Stan Stek. “The addition of a probate judge will provide much-needed support to our court while being efficient with our resources.”

With Kent County’s increasing population, the probate court’s caseload has grown by more than 60 percent since 2008.

In 2019, the State Court Administrators’ Office (SCAO) recommended three judgeships for Kent County- one in each in the Probate, 17th Circuit, and 63rd District courts – based on a review of population trends and court caseloads. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly slowed and altered the legislative approval process of adding additional judgeships. However, Governor Whitmer signed into law Senate Bill 694 (Public Act 08 of 2022) in February, which created a new probate judgeship for Kent County and five other new judgeships across the state.

Meanwhile, a Board of Commissioners Judicial Resources Subcommittee was appointed to review the actions of the SCAO and the State Legislature and make a recommendation to the full Board regarding the addition of new judgeships. The Subcommittee subsequently recommended adding an additional probate judge position.

“The Probate Court is facing an overwhelming docket so adding a new judge to the bench will ensure cases will be considered timely and more efficiently,” said Chief Probate Judge David M. Murkowski.

Chief Probate Judge David M. Murkowski

“The beneficiaries of this additional judicial resource will be the residents of Kent County. We appreciate the Board of Commissioners, State Legislature, and Supreme Court understanding our need and approving the addition of a new probate judge.”

The new probate judge will be chosen by election, with the filling deadline in April and the primary election in August. The general election is in November 2022. The new judge will assume the office on Jan. 1, 2023.