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Benson: 2022 election turnout expected to be highest Michigan midterm turnout ever
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said she expects the Nov. 8 2022 turnout to be the largest midterm voter turnout in state history.
DETROIT (FOX 2) - During a post-Election Day press conference Wednesday, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said she expects Tuesday's turnout to be the largest midterm voter turnout in state history.
"Yesterday’s election results are about to break the record set in 2018 for a midterm election," she said.
Benson said more than 4.3 million Michiganders voted, with more than 1.8 million voters casting an absentee ballot.
Unofficial results will be certified over the next few days.
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Benson expects 2022 Michigan election will set midterm turnout record
While the results aren't official yet, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said she is confident the election will set a record for voter turnout during a midterm. Now, she will work to make sure the certifying process is completed.
All the big races, including the secretary of state race where Benson was up against Republican Kristina Karamo, have been called.
Results were expected to take around 24 hours, but by Wednesday morning, decisions were in. Benson said a smooth process made the quick availability of results possible.
Benson won. Other winners include Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who won reelection vs. Republican Tudor Dixon, and Democrat Attorney General incumbent Dana Nessel, who defeated Matt DePerno.
The Department of State provided updates throughout Election Day.
According to Tuesday's last update, there was a strong in-person voter turnout.
A total of 2,025,581 absentee ballots had been requested for the midterms and 1,832,931 of them had been returned to election clerks as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, with 12,537 same-day voter registrations as of 7 p.m. In Ann Arbor, voters were waiting in line to register beyond 8 p.m. Per state law, people can register and vote as long as they are in line by 8 p.m.
The department also said that there were few poll challengers. Spokesperson Jake Rollow highlighted two incidents, one in Detroit and one in Ann Arbor, that he said had no impact on voting.
See the election results here.
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Absentee counting complete in Detroit after successful election night
Detroit election officials completed the absentee ballot counting in the early hours of Wednesday after some 80,000 mail-in ballots were tabulated by 4 a.m.