© 2024 MICHIGAN PUBLIC
91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

As of today, voter registration in Michigan is down from past two elections

someone writing on a ballot
Michael Dorausch
/
Flickr, http://j.mp/1SPGCl0
Barring a successful appeal, Michigan voters will be able to use a straight-ticket voting option on November's ballot.

The number of registered voters in Michigan this year is lower than in previous presidential elections based on the data collected through August.

According to the Michigan Secretary of State, there are currently 7,394,663 registered voters in the state, which is fewer than the past two election years. There were 7,470,764 in 2008 and 7,454,553 in 2012.  

The deadline to register to vote in the November election is October 11.

The Detroit Free Press reports that 97% of the eligible voters in Michigan were already registered by this time in 2014.

As of August, Wayne county had 1,313,408 registered voters, the only county in the state with at least a million registered. Oakland and Macomb counties have the second- and third-most registered voters. 

More from The Detroit Free Press

Democrats and the campaign for their presidential nominee Hillary Clinton have been fanning out across the state to make sure as many people are registered as possible. A higher turnout on Election Day tends to favor Democrats, and Clinton is still trying to attract many of the young voters that were drawn to her rival Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders during the primary election.

The Free Press says Republicans have not been as active in trying to get more eligible voters to register.

The New York Times reports there is a trend during election years, that registered voter totals get a boost during the last weeks before the deadline. 

More from the New York Times:

In 2012, the number of registered Democrats in Nevada in September and October increased by about 44,000, while the number of Republicans rose by about 21,000.

*This post was updated to reflect that the data was representative of the registration numbers up through the month of August.

Related Content