On Tuesday, May 5, there will be an election in Portage. The ballot will feature a K-RESA millage question and Portage residents who live within the Vicksburg Community School District boundaries will also have a millage question.
Under Governor Whitmer’s Executive Order 2020-28, the May 5, 2020 Special Election will be conducted primarily by mail. Due to the current COVID-19 health crisis, clerks in Michigan will not establish precinct-based polling places for the May 5 election. Instead, the election will be conducted by mail, with the exception that on Election Day (May 5), voters can visit Portage City Hall to receive and submit ballots.
To vote in this election, Portage residents should apply for an absent voter ballot. This will allow you to receive a ballot in the mail, vote at home and return the ballot by mail. Since 2018, all registered voters are eligible to vote absentee. Voting from home will help limit the spread of the COVID-19 by reducing the number of in-person interactions. This will help keep voters, election workers and the community safe and healthy.
Registered Portage voters should have already received an absentee voter application in the mail from the State of Michigan. Voters who did not receive an application can still apply for an absent voter ballot by visiting portagemi.gov/229. The form should be completed and sign it by hand then returned to the Portage City Clerk in any of the following ways:
- Postal Mail to: Portage City Clerk, 7900 South Westnedge Avenue, Portage MI 49002.
- Scan or take a picture of the signed application and e-mail it to cityclerk@portagemi.gov.
- Deliver it to Portage City Hall using the outside “Night Drop Box” at the front of the building.
Please visit michigan.gov/vote for additional information and updates about voting in the May 5 Election. You can also call the Office of the City Clerk at 329-4511. Please keep in mind, staff may not be in the office, but will respond to voicemails promptly.
All of these changes are for the May 5, 2020 Election only. The Executive Order expires on May 5, 2020.