With election day over a week away, Grand Rapids Clerk Joel Hondorp says his office is excited to offer Grand Rapids residents more ways to get their votes in.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — At City Hall in downtown Grand Rapids, the City Clerk says they’ve sent out around 30,000 absentee ballots and have already received back around 15,000 ballots from boxes in the city.
Mikaila Coleman voted for the first time at City Hall in Downtown Grand Rapids on Sunday afternoon. With her ballot now in one of those drop boxes, she’s more than excited to be part of the process.
“I got involved in this years election because my friends and family told me to vote,” said Coleman. “It’s like, also, my answer and my vote will count.”
To Executive Director of Proactive Kathi Harris, who helped organize Sunday’s ‘Souls to the Polls’ event at City Hall, stories like Mikalia Coleman’s are what it’s all about.
“That is such an awesome feeling to know that there’s especially one as a young person that is voting for the very first time, they’re learning the process. And they do know that voting is important,” said Harris.
Souls to the Polls offered opportunities for people to fill out their ballots and drop them off into droboxes. Harris says the event was also meant to help relay the importance of getting voters voices heard.
“We are encouraging everyone to go out and exercise that right. We have to hold on to our democracy,” said Harris. “So voting is very, very important. And so we’re encouraging them to do that, whether it’s at a drop box, coming into the clerk’s office or going to the polls on election day.”
With election day just over a week away, Grand Rapids Clerk Joel Hondorp says their office is excited to offer Grand Rapids residents more ways to get their votes into ballot boxes before that Nov. 8 date.
“To see people getting engaged, getting excited about coming to an event like this, where you have the opportunity that is a little bit special,” said Hondorp. “What we have isn’t a normal course of things. A lot of cities and townships don’t do events like this, so we have an opportunity to give at least one voter that opportunity to vote for first time in a nontraditional way. “
More opportunities to vote, something Coleman is thankful for.
“Nervous, but it also makes me feel like I’m becoming more of an adult now that I’ve voted,” said Coleman.
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