Thousands of absentee ballots go out in St. Clair County as local clerks brace for Nov. 8

There’s less than three weeks until the Nov. 8 general election, and already, thousands of people in St. Clair County are voting.

It’s a number that, according to the county, isn’t on track to be as high as the last major election in 2020 but one that’ll still keep election workers busy on the day.

Debbie Rhein, the county’s election director, said there were 16,771 absentee ballots issued countywide as of Oct. 5. By Tuesday, nearly two weeks later, the number had shot up 58% to 26,542. A total of 52,501 absentee ballots were issued for the 2020 presidential election.

Since 2018, anyone in Michigan can vote via absentee and by mail through their local clerk’s office. In just Port Huron, that number is also on quickly on the rise this month.

On Tuesday, Kelsey Roelens, the Port Huron's assistant clerk, said the city had issued 3,499 absentee ballots. That’s in contrast to the 7,155 total issued two years ago. When asked, she estimated that the total number may reach around 5,000 by Nov. 8, adding, “They’re still coming in every day.

Port Huron City Clerk Cyndee Jonseck wasn’t immediately available as of early Wednesday.

This week, St. Clair County Clerk Jay DeBoyer said the biggest concerns he seemed to be hearing from elections officials around the county were similar as to in years past — do they have enough ballots, will everything go smoothly, and will they get any disruptors on Nov. 8.

Similar to the August primary, he said results on an SD card will have to be driven to the county clerk’s office before they’re uploaded online, which had been a slight deviation from the past — when results were also emailed in — spurring a delay in uploading totals to the county’s unofficial results page.

DeBoyer said the attention to detail helps ensure there aren’t any major mistakes, particularly amid the current climate and on social media where political discussions more closely hold the process under the microscope than in the past.

“I think people just need to know that all the clerks in St. Clair County are well-prepared, they’re well-staffed,” DeBoyer said. “They’re not going to have any issues on election day with regard to having to stand in line or those kinds of things. We follow all the procedural requirements to the T.

“We do all of our testing, things that would allow you to discover potential errors or mistakes. Something that could cause a delay – we run all that testing, we do it redundantly. We run it through the clerk’s office at the county, and then, each individual clerk does the same thing at their municipality.”

According to the state, voters can still register in person with their local clerk’s office and proof of residency from Oct. 25 through Nov. 8. Voters can obtain an absentee ballot via First Class mail through 5 p.m. Nov. 4 and in person through 4 p.m. Nov. 7.

Absentee voters looking to change their vote can have their ballot spoiled to receive another by submitting a written request in person through 10 a.m. Nov. 7. Requests via the mail can be submitted through 5 p.m. Nov. 4.

The last day to register to vote in any manner other than in person with the local clerk is Oct. 24.

Write-in candidates have until 4 p.m. Oct. 28 to file declarations of intent forms to run for office in the November election.

For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/vote.

Contact Jackie Smith at (810) 989-6270 or jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith.