BRANCH COUNTY, MI (WTVB) – Voter turnout for the August Primary has not been very high in Branch County over the last decade.
In the five August Primarys that have been held since 2010, nearly four out of five registered voters in the county did not cast a ballot including two years ago.
Even though there was a millage question for the new Branch County Jail on the ballot, the registered voter turnout ended up being 21 percent.
There were 19 percent turnouts in 2016 and 2014. The turnout in 2012 during a presidential election year was 26 percent which surpassed the 2010 turnout of 18 percent.
A number of people have chosen to request and submit an absentee ballot this year in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That along with several hotly contested races may cause the percentage of registered voters who cast a ballot in Tuesday’s Primary to be higher than in past years.
Coldwater City Clerk Susan Heath says 1,730 absentee ballots were requested by city voters. As of noon on Monday, almost 1,300 had been returned.
