Already voted and your candidate drops out? There’s an option

(Thanks to Bridge Michigan for the information in this article)

Can I change my vote if I’ve already voted absentee and change my mind or my candidate drops out? Yes, under certain conditions, you can!

Send a written, signed request to your local clerk and ask them to “spoil” your ballot and send you a new one in the mail. Your request must get to the Clerk’s office before 2 pm on March 7. If you want to vote at the polls instead, you can say so in your letter to the clerk.

You can also tell your clerk to spoil your ballot in person until 4 pm on March 9, the day before the election. While you’re there, you can get a new absentee ballot or tell the clerk you’ll vote at the polls.

If you decide you want to change your absentee vote on Election Day, you’re out of luck. Officials can begin counting absentee ballots once the polls open at 7 am, so after that time it’s too late to change your vote on March 10.

In the Manchester area, there also is a ballot proposal for millage renewal and restoration for Washtenaw Community College. Ballot wording is as follows:

WASHTENAW COMMUNITY COLLEGE MILLAGE RENEWAL AND RESTORATION

This proposal authorizes Washtenaw Community College to levy 1.00 mill for operating purposes for 10 years. Of the 1.00 mill, 0.9718 represents a renewal of the 1.00 mill authorization approved by the electors in 2008, which will expire with the 2020 tax levy and 0.0282 mill represents a restoration of the portion of the same authority which was reduced by application of the Headlee Amendment.

Shall the limitation on the total amount of taxes which may be imposed on taxable property within the Washtenaw Community College district, State of Michigan, be increased by 1.00 mill ($1.00 per $1,000 of Taxable Valuation) for a period of 10 years, the years 2021 through 2030 inclusive, to provide funds for operating purposes? Of the 1.00 mill, 0.9718 represents a renewal of that portion of the 1.00 mill authorization previously approved by the electors as reduced by operation of the Headlee Amendment, and 0.0282 represents new additional millage in the amount equal to the amount reduced by operation of the Headlee Amendment. It is estimated that the 1.00 mill would raise $17,500,000 for the College when first levied in 2021.

Don’t forget to vote in the primary election next Tuesday!

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.