DETROIT (WXYZ) — The state of Michigan says the 2024 presidential race now marks the third election cycle in a row where Michigan has seen record turnout.
Around 5.5 million registered voters in the state cast ballots via absentee, early in person or on Election Day. Secretary Jocelyn Benson says in years prior, the state had trouble passing the 5 million ballot benchmark.
After millions of Americans made their choices at the polls, some say they are now optimistic about the future.
"I was shocked. I think a lot of people were but actually, I’m really optimistic. I’m excited," said voter Jordan Lewis. "I think for a lot of people who didn’t like the guy who got elected, I guess, there’s some good news, which is he can’t get reelected again but in the same token, I think we all were able to relax a little bit and remember what happened last time and I think there’s was a lot of good stuff that happened."
Other voters say they woke up Wednesday disappointed in the results.
"I’m happy with a lot of the results that have come around across the country with abortion and Arizona but talking just about presidential, I’m feeling hurt and a little betrayed by this country right now," said voter Alexandria Beckham. "It is a little surprising that things were so close, marginally close, that your vote really does matter. Every vote matters."
Despite the record turnout, some places like the city of Detroit actually saw fewer overall voters turning out to the polls. In the 2020 general election, the city saw 50% of registered voters casting ballots. In the 2024 general election, around 47% of registered voters cast ballots in the general election. Although the number of registered voters rose between the two elections overall, voters participating decreased by about 11,000 votes.
"I believe a lot of our young people did not vote. I done had too many people tell me our vote didn’t count," said voter April Doss of the 2024 presidential election.
Michigan Secretary Jocelyn Benson held a press conference Wednesday to discuss the night. She says the election was largely a success despite some misinformation spread by former President Donald Trump via social media alleging "heavy police presence" in Philadelphia and Detroit. She says there were also several threats made via email to Michigan polling locations in Genesee, Saginaw, Wayne and Washtenaw counties. However, they were later determined not to be credible and of Russian origin.
Benson says when the counting of votes began, she had hoped to be one of the first swing states in the nation reporting 100%, but poll workers ran into some slowdowns.
"I think we made clear all along that it would take time for counties to report those unofficial results. What we saw over the last 12 hours or so was, in particularly large counties like Wayne, there were no problems with counting or transmitting and that’s why we knew things had been tabulated, but it did take a very long time to upload into the county website," said Benson.
Benson also says after nine days of early voting, there was some fatigue among workers. She believes more workers and machinery could make the process more swift in 2028.
"I’ll also attribute it to the fact that everyone was being so careful. We knew the immense scrutiny that this process was under and I think everyone was very much on edge and trying to make sure they did everything right," said Benson.
As of noon Wednesday, the state says there are still some 6,000 outstanding military ballots that could be counted if properly postmarked and if they arrive by Tuesday, Nov. 12.
