According to data from the Michigan Secretary of State, 7,481,074 people statewide are registered to vote in the November election.
That’s a very slight uptick from the 2012 election cycle.
Nearly everyone of voting age in Michigan is registered to vote, due in large part to the state’s motor voter law. But not everyone votes. Only 63% cast ballots in the 2012 election.
Some local clerks kept their doors open late on Tuesday, which was the deadline to register.
That included Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett, who stayed open until midnight. Her office says it received a “whopping” 8,741 last-minute applications.
Wayne is the most populous county in Michigan. It has about 1.3 million registered voters.
In neighboring Macomb County, long considered a national political bellweather and home of the “Reagan Democrats,” Clerk Carmella Sabaugh also kept doors open until midnight.
Macomb had over 627,000 voters as of Thursday. That’s about 10,000 more than in 2012.
Local city and township clerks are responsible for updating the state’s Qualified Voter File.
The final voter registration numbers are expected to tick upward just slightly by the end of the week. Clerks must also accept and enter voter applications that were mailed by the October 11 deadline.
