A sign outside the polling place located in the Martin Luther Chapel on Abbot Road. (Luke Day for ELi)

By the Numbers: Student Vote Carried Proposal 1 and Other Takeaways From Election Day

Data from the Ingham County Clerk’s Office shows that student voters propelled Proposal 1 to victory, shorter Election Day lines came despite higher turnout than other recent major elections and that voters have shifted away from casting their ballots on Election Day. 

Proposal 1, a charter amendment impacting the city’s housing and rental regulations, has been often debated at city meetings over the last several months. 

Those for and against the amendment disagree about what the language of the amendment does. Those for it say it simply allows homeowners to have long term guests, caretakers and others without needing a rental license. Those against the proposal have said it could eliminate the city’s rental restriction zones and hurt the city’s ability to enforce its housing and rental laws.

The official language of the charter amendment, as it appears on the online sample ballot.

Overall, more than 54% of voters supported the charter amendment, with 7,972 votes in favor of the proposal and 6,666 were against it, good for a margin of 1,306 votes. 

Digging a little deeper into the numbers, the proposal was supported by 2,228 voters on the five campus precincts, with only 469 votes against. That’s a margin of 1,759 votes and approval from almost 83% of on-campus voters.

This is a stark contrast to what happened off-campus. In the 11 precincts off campus, 5,744 votes came in for the proposal and 6,197 votes were against, meaning about 52% of off-campus voters opposed the charter amendment. 

While the residents against Proposal 1 said they believe it will lead to drastic changes to neighborhoods, the group that advocated for the change sent out a message reassuring residents this is not the case shortly after results were released. 

Patrick Rose, a leader for the group that drafted and advocated for for the charter amendment, emailed a press release to ELi after results were in.

“This vote and campaign showed that East Lansing residents want to have guests live in their home without potentially facing large retroactive fines,” the release reads. “Those for and against Proposal 1 agreed on the key points – that they want to have live-in child care, to age in place without any fines, and to have loved ones live with them so they can be cared for. City officials and the City Council were moving in our direction to embrace this consensus even before the election.

“Proposal 1 keeps in place all existing rental regulations, overlay districts, rental license requirements and safety rules. Proposal 1 does not impact the regulation of short-term rentals (Airbnb’s). The City must enforce Proposal 1 as written to protect the basic right to have a guest while also enforcing existing rental regulations that remain in place after yesterday’s vote.”

Save Our Neighborhoods East Lansing, the group that advocated against the charter amendment, also sent ELi a message. The statement highlighted the voting differences on and off-campus, and expressed hope that there will not be major changes, as some members of the group have said they fear.

“The Proposal 1 side promised that their Proposal 1 will preserve the City’s rental regulations, including overlay districts and housing/safety inspection requirements,” the statement reads. “We agree these are critical, and we found broad consensus on all sides and across the City to preserve these important regulations.”

Lines were much shorter than 2020, 2022 despite higher turnout. 

At elections in 2020 and 2022, long lines of student voters could be seen at locations where Election Day registration was allowed. 

Lines outside city hall in 2022, as students waited to register and vote on Election Day. (Luke Day for ELi)

This year, the locations with same day registration were at the Election Day Vote Centers at the MSU Communication Arts and Sciences building and City Hall. Lines could be seen at the locations–but to a much lesser extent than previous major elections. 

Co-Director of MSU Vote Renee Brown told ELi at around 6:30 p.m. on Election Day that the longest wait times of the day were about an hour long. This comes after students were in line after midnight waiting to register and vote in the 2022 midterm elections. 

A big reason for the long lines is that Election Day registration cannot be done at most voter precincts, funneling voters to the couple of locations where registration is done. Many students need to register to vote on Election Day because they need to change their address from their hometown, or are voting for the first time. 

There was still a line outside of City Hall this year, as students waited to register and vote. However, lines were much shorter this year than at previous major elections. (Luke Day for ELi)

The shorter lines on Tuesday came despite a big spike in voters compared to the 2022 midterm elections. In 2022, there were about 12,988 ballots cast, compared to 17,579 this year. 

To reduce the lines, City Clerk Marie Wicks told ELi in a September interview that her team would encourage early voting and registration. The strategy worked. 

Prior to Election Day, the city announced that more than 5,600 voters cast their ballot at an Early Voting Center. The city opened an Early Voting Center at the Communication Arts and Sciences building on Oct. 21, and another at the Hannah Community Center on Oct. 26. Both operated daily through Nov. 3. 

Another 6,267 votes came in via absentee ballot, about 36% of total votes. This left only about 32% of voters who cast their ballot in-person on Election Day. In comparison, more than 40% of voters cast their ballot on Election Day in 2022. 

Recent changes to voting laws in Michigan gave way to the increased early voting. In 2022, voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing for early in-person voting. Additionally, a 2018 ballot proposal was approved that allowed for any reason absentee voting. 

City Clerk Marie Wicks to retire. 

The smooth implementation of early voting and the Election Day Voting Centers is largely thanks to local election workers. The woman who led the effort, Wicks, will soon leave the city ranks.

At the Oct. 15 City Council meeting, City Manager Robert Belleman said Wicks plans to step down after the election. 

This was Wicks’ second stint as city clerk. She returned last year after then-City Clerk Jennifer Shuster and Deputy Clerk Kathryn Gardner both resigned, and has subsequently led the city through several elections–four just this year.

Wicks’ first stint with the city spanned 12 years. In 2018, Wicks resigned to serve on the state bureau of elections, a position she later retired from.