What you need to know before casting your state primary election ballot

2024 August Primary Ballot
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DETROIT (WXYZ) — On Monday, 7 News Detroit asked a handful of Detroit voters if they felt confident that they knew who all the candidates on the primary election ballot were.

The overwhelming answer?

"Not really."

It's a common circumstance.

Some Detroit voters like Sharif Bacon vote absentee from home just to avoid it.

"The ones that I didn’t know, like the proposals and stuff like that, I researched," said Bacon. "Especially like the library millage and stuff like that."

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If you're voting in person Tuesday and you want to look up who and what will be on your ballot ahead of time, you can.

You can look at a sample ballot on the Secretary of State's website.

Armed with knowing who or what to vote for, you're just left to make sure you vote correctly.

Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey told 7 News Detroit the most common mistake she sees is voters "mixing the ticket."

"In other words on the partisan section, you have to choose one, Democrat or Republican," explained Winfrey.

RELATED: Check out our election coverage here

The point of the primary election is to narrow down which candidate will run for their party in the November election.

You have to vote all Republican or all Democrat, you can't "mix the ticket." If you do, it will be thrown out.

Winfrey said, "You cannot do that in the primary, you can in the general, but not in the primary."

If you haven't decided whether you're voting Tuesday or not, you have until 8 p.m. on election day.

You can register to vote, and vote, in the same visit at your city or township clerk's office.