Voter turnout increased during this year’s Detroit elections, though 78% of eligible voters didn’t let their voice be heard.
The Nov. 4 general election between Mayor-elect Mary Sheffield and Solomon Kinloch drew a 22% turnout — that’s 115,518 ballots cast out of 519,270 registered voters, unofficial results show.
Some wondered whether Sheffield’s massive primary win mixed with an opposing base that couldn’t seem to grow past the size of Kinloch’s congregation, would diminish turnout.
However, last Tuesday saw the highest turnout in a local municipal election since the last time a mayoral seat was up for grabs in 2013, when then-DMC CEO Mike Duggan defeated beloved Sheriff Benny Napoleon.
The same turnout was reported in 2017, when former state Rep. Coleman Young II’s challenged Duggan.
The 2005 election between Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Freeman Hendrix had the highest turnout in the last 20 years, with 37% of voters participating.
The 2021 election between Mayor Mike Duggan and Anthony Adams saw 93,727 total votes out of 502,129 registered voters.
Less than three quarters of eligible voters in Detroit are participating in municipal elections. A Detroit Free Press review found that 41% of the voting age population cast ballots in 2005, compared with 23.5% this year ― while consistently participating in gubernatorial and presidential elections, Freep reports.
Changes to state law have made it easier for residents to vote in multiple ways, from home and weeks early.
A constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2022 gave registered voters the ability to be included in a permanent absentee voter list. These voters automatically receive an absentee ballot for all future elections without needing to submit an application each time.
The city as part of this year’s elections mailed more absentee ballots than people who have voted in previous primary elections.
The department predicted a 13-18% turnout for the Aug. 5 primary election, or about 65,000-90,000 voters. Winfrey told reporters last week she expected an 18-23% turnout in the general election.
“The turnout in Detroit and in many other parts of the state, particularly among young people. is far below the state and national average,” Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson told Michigan Chronicle this summer ahead of the Aug. 5 primary.
Some, including Benson have considered the possibility for communities to hold local elections at the same time as the presidential election.
“That is a possibility that voters and leaders in Detroit can look at consolidating those elections and save money for election administrators too,” Benson said.
Detroit Clerk Janice Winfrey told Michigan Chronicle earlier this year it’s up to local candidates to excite voters.
Sheffield Tuesday night shortly after the Associated Press called the race said voters gave her a mandate to enact her agenda.
Leonard McCoughlin, 79, who volunteered to work his polling place in Lafayette Park last week, told Michigan Chronicle he expected a low turnout because apathy is so high. While McCoughlin acknowledged most voters are closer to his age, he sees it as more than a generational problem.
“I know this guy, he must be my age, he’s never voted,” McCoughlin said. “I said, ‘Man, how are you going to complain if you never voted?’ He looked at me and I just shook my head — it’s ridiculous. These people won’t vote, I don’t understand it.”
