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Do this to ensure November’s election goes smoothly

Mostly, things went well.

A record number of voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary election, 2.5 million, proof that a 2018 referendum to make voting more accessible worked.

The number of Michiganders who voted by mail soared, thanks to that same referendum allowing voters to request absentee ballots without a reason.

Here’s the thing about voting: It’s a duty and a right. And if one person isn’t able to vote, that’s one too many.

So fixing the things that didn’t work in Tuesday’s primary election should jump to the top of every Michigan lawmaker and clerk’s to-do list before November’s election.

Here’s the good news: The fixes aren’t that complicated.

Because of the unusually high number of absentee ballots, and increased voter turnout, some vote counts were delayed, arriving in Wednesday’s early morning hours, or later that day. State lawmakers need to change the rule that bars clerks from beginning to count absentee ballots until Election Day. At minimum, lawmakers should allow clerks to prepare to count the ballots before Election Day. The state should continue to train reserve election workers to help municipalities with too few of their own.

In Detroit, a dearth of workers meant some polling places didn’t open on time. Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey told the Free Press that some workers were no-shows without warning, something she attributes to last-minute decisions because of the COVID-10 pandemic.

— Detroit Free Press.

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