The Calhoun County Clerk's Office provides the information below regarding the November General Election ballot in Calhoun County.
1) It is not necessary to vote every office – if you are unfamiliar with candidates you can skip the office and it will NOT invalidate your entire ballot.
2) It is not necessary to vote for the maximum number of candidates allowed in each office.
3) If you select a Straight Party and vote for all the same party candidates in the Partisan section, it does NOT invalidate your ballot or selections – each candidate will receive one vote!
4) During a General Election, in the Partisan Section the Democrat Party candidates will be listed first in each office due to the fact our current Secretary of State is a Democrat. Republican Party candidates will be listed second. The remaining partisan candidates are listed in order of their minor party status (Libertarian, U.S. Taxpayers, Working Class, Green, then Natural Law Party)
5) In the Nonpartisan Section in any office that has more candidates than can be elected, the candidates will be listed in alphabetical order then rotate throughout all 58 precincts in the County beginning with cities followed by townships – the candidates name on the top will drop to the bottom in the following precinct. A candidate Rotation Schedule is available on our calhouncountymi.gov/elections webpage.
Here are some details that will help you in completing your entire ballot:
1) There are 3 sections on your ballot – the Partisan, Nonpartisan, and Proposal sections must be voted separately.
- the Partisan Section contains Straight Party, Presidential, Congressional, Legislative, State Boards, County, and most Township offices.
- the Nonpartisan Section contains all Judicial offices, Community College, City Offices (if you reside in one of our 4 Cities in Calhoun County), Library Board Member offices (in Burlington and Tekonsha), Village offices (if you reside in one of our 5 villages), and School District offices.
- the Proposal Section includes 2 State Proposals, 1 County Proposal, and local proposals if you reside in Marshall City, Tekonsha Township or Homer Community School District.
2) Notice the ‘Vote for not more than xx’ directly under each Office Title – most are a vote for 1; however, some are Vote for not more than 2, 3, 4 or even 6. You can vote for 2 in the State Board offices; Community College, School District members, and City At-Large are more than 1; Township Trustees are usually 2 but Charter Township Trustees are a vote for 4.
3) In the Partisan Section you may cast a ‘Straight Ticket’, a ‘Split Ticket’ or a ‘Mixed Ticket’:
- Straight Ticket – simply vote the party of your choice; nothing further needs to be done in the partisan section as this awards a vote to each candidate in the chosen party; continue to the Nonpartisan Section.
- Split Ticket – you may vote Straight Ticket AND vote for individual candidates of your choice from a different party, no party affiliation or cast a write-in vote. Continue to the Nonpartisan and Proposal Sections.
- Mixed Ticket – directly select individual candidates of your choice in each office.
4) There are Offices on both the front and back of your ballot, so be certain to Turn Your Ballot Over!
5) To vote for a write-in candidate, the candidate must file a Write-in Declaration of Intent with their filing official for the office they are seeking by the deadline; the voter must write the candidates name on the blank line in that particular office AND fill-in the oval to the right of the blank line.
6) If you make a mistake on your absentee ballot contact your local clerk to receive a new ballot; if you make a mistake on your Election Day ballot inform an election inspector who will spoil your original ballot and issue a new one for you to vote.
You can view a Sample of your Ballot at www.mi.gov/vote (note: nonpartisan candidates are shown in alphabetical order on sample ballots). Actual Sample ballots will be posted in your polling location on Election Day.
To learn more about the candidates you may wish to research Voter Guides, find candidates on the internet or Facebook, or for Party candidates contact your local Political Party headquarters.
