ELi’s Voter Guide for the Aug. 4 Election

While Election Day is still more than a month away for the Aug. 4 Primary Election, absentee ballots are already out and voting has begun.

East Lansing voters will choose their favorite Democratic or Republican candidates for the following offices:

Governor
U.S. Senate
U.S. Congress
State Senate
State Representative
Delegate to County Convention

In an interview with East Lansing Info, East Lansing Clerk Emily Gordon reminded voters that they must choose either the Republican or Democratic side of the ballot and cannot split their selections between the two parties. Because Michigan voters do not register with a political party, they decide which party’s primary they will participate in when they cast their ballot.

Voters will also decide the fate of four different county tax proposals and three amendments to the East Lansing City Charter.

Most East Lansing residents have voted via absentee ballot in recent elections and Gordon recommended voters who mail their ballots send them at least two weeks before Election Day, in case there are delays in the postal process.

Voters can also drop their absentee ballots off in the ballot drop boxes located around the city, Gordon said. Ballots are collected from the drop boxes daily. Drop boxes are located at:

East Lansing Public Library
East Lansing City Hall (Indoors and outdoors)
MSU-CATA Transportation Center
East Lansing Department of Public Works

An absentee ballot drop box at East Lansing City Hall. (From City of East Lansing Facebook)

Residents can also vote early in-person. An early voting center will be set up at the Hannah Community Center and operate from Saturday, July 25 through Sunday Aug. 2 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

Additionally, residents who fill out an absentee ballot can vote by turning the ballot into the early voting center or their polling place on Election Day, Gordon said.

For those who prefer to vote on Election Day, the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. East Lansing recently rearranged its polling places, and there will be 13 stations this election cycle, compared to 17 in last November’s City Council election.

Gordon said residents who participated in November’s City Council election may be voting in a different location this election. She recommended residents check their polling place ahead of Election Day to make sure they go to the correct location. Voters can find their polling location online.

A map showing the polling precincts in East Lansing. (From City of East Lansing website)

Michigan residents can register to vote and update their voter registration online, through the mail and at the clerk’s office up to 15 days before Election Day, which is July 20 for the upcoming election. Within two weeks of Election Day, voters can register and update information at the clerk’s office.

To check your voter registration, view a sample ballot, track an absentee ballot and find the answers to many frequently asked questions, visit the online Michigan Voter Information Center.

Amendments to the city charter could change procedures after City Council elections, regulations around city manager position.

Voters will also decide on three proposed amendments to the city charter, all of which originated from a volunteer committee that spent months reviewing East Lansing’s foundational document.

One of the amendments would change regulations around the city manager position by requiring the manager live within 25 miles of the city’s boundaries and spelling out a succession plan should the manager be indisposed.

The amendment will be voted on during a transition period for city leadership. Former City Manager Robert Belleman and East Lansing reached a separation agreement last month. The city will soon undertake a search for a new city manager that is expected to last months.

If the amendment is approved, the city manager would appoint a deputy city manager, whose appointment would be approved by the City Council. The manager would also appoint an acting city manager if both the city manager and deputy city manager are unavailable.

The other two amendments are both intended to pull the city charter into alignment with state law by delaying the swearing-in of new City Council members and the election of the mayor and mayor pro tem until after the election is certified. Currently, the charter stipulates that new members are sworn-in and the mayor and mayor pro tem are elected the first Tuesday after the election.

Gordon explained in an email to ELi that changes to Michigan election law that took effect in 2024 have lengthened the canvassing period by allowing military and overseas ballots to arrive up to six days after Election Day. As a result, the city no longer has enough time to certify election results by the Tuesday following the election.

As state law trumps local law, proceedings have been out of line with the city charter after recent City Council elections. For example, the council held its first meeting after the 2025 election on the second Tuesday following the election, to allow enough time for the certification process.

For more information about the proposed charter amendments, read this previous reporting from ELi.

Voters will decide on the majority of Potter Park Zoo’s operating funds.

A property tax millage that provides about 70% of the funding for Potter Park Zoo’s operating expenses is on the ballot. Zoo Director Cynthia Wagner explained that if the millage fails, management of the zoo’s property goes back to the City of Lansing, making Potter Park’s future murky. A full breakdown of the millage can be found in this previous reporting.

Penguins swimming at Potter Park Zoo. (Lucas Day for ELi)

Parks and Trails millage renewal is on the ballot.

Another millage renewal on the ballot funds improvements to Ingham County parks and trails. The county distributes the millage funds through grants to municipal leaders, who use the money to carry out projects. For more information about the cost of the millage and the improvements it has supported, read this reporting.

Millage renewal for transportation services for the elderly and disabled persons.

Residents will vote on a millage renewal that has been in place for at least 20 years that pays for transportation services for disabled persons and the elderly. Almost all of the millage funds help pay for the Capital Area Transportation Authority’s Rural Service program and Spec-Tran program, which provides door-to-door transportation. More information about the millage can be found here.

Tax increase on county hotel, motel rooms to be decided.

Voters will decide whether or not to increase the county tax on hotel and motel rooms for visitors staying less than 30 days from 5% to 8%. The revenue from the tax helps fund local projects, like large event venues and county fairgrounds. Get the details about the proposal in this previous reporting.