Staff shortages could lengthen voting lines or slow an absentee ballot counting effort, but Michigan officials say there’s no need to panic because clerks and the state have spent weeks recruiting reserve workers.
Jonathan Oosting
Jonathan is a deputy editor for Bridge Michigan. He helps plan and execute in-depth reporting and campaign coverage. As a longtime political reporter, Jonathan was named 2021 Journalist of the Year by the Michigan Press Association. He and a colleague shared that honor again in 2023, when they were also named Journalists of the Year by the Society of Professional Journalists – Detroit Chapter. Jonathan covered the state Capitol for The Detroit News and MLive before joining Bridge in September of 2019. He's from Grand Rapids, lives in Lansing and loves spending time Up North.
Posted inMichigan Government
Biden, Obama, Trump plan more visits as Michigan reprises battleground role
President Donald Trump, Democrat Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama plan weekend visits before Tuesday’s election. That begs the question: Is Michigan closer than the polls suggest?
Posted inMichigan Government
Oakland County ‘ground zero’ in fight for control of Michigan House
Republicans need to hold onto four contested seats to retain control of the state House. Democrats, hopeful for a blue wave, are pushing hard to swing control of the chamber for the first time in a decade.
Posted inMichigan Government
Joe Biden leads Donald Trump in Michigan polls. Will they be wrong again?
Trust in polls has eroded since Donald Trump came from behind in 2016 to win the presidential election. Michigan pollsters say they got a bad rap, but they’ve still made changes like contacting more cellphone users.
Posted inMichigan Government
Judge: Michigan can’t ban open carry guns on Election Day
Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s attempt to ban openly carried weapons at Michigan polling places on Election Day is “likely unlawful” and cannot be enforced, Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray ruled Tuesday evening.
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan has 1M unreturned absentee ballots. And mail delays are common.
State officials are urging residents to return ballots to clerks or in drop boxes if they want them to count by Tuesday.
Posted inMichigan Government
Joe Biden is favored to win Michigan but can he build a Democratic wave?
Joe Biden has a significant lead in Michigan polls. But so did Hillary Clinton in 2016. Democrats warn the race may be closer than it appears, but also hope Biden can help candidates down the ballot.
Posted inMichigan Government
How Donald Trump can come from behind and win Michigan
President Donald Trump is down in the polls in the runup to Michigan’s must-win presidential election, but he’s been here before. Four years after his win here, Trump is barnstorming the state in an attempt to re-create the magic. Don’t count him out, experts say.
Posted inMichigan Government
Liberal groups bury Michigan with mail shaming people to vote. Many hate it.
Called “peer pressure in an envelope,” mailings to people of color, young voters and others intend to increase turnout. Some voters find the messages “creepy,” and clerks are inundated with complaints. But the mailings continue because they work, organizers say.
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan gun groups sue Benson to open carry at election polling sites
Gun rights groups say Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s new ban on openly carried weapons at Election Day polling places unfairly punishes residents who want “to exercise both their 2nd Amendment right to self-protection and their fundamental right to vote.”