DEARBORN — Election season tends to be a busy time for City Clerk Kathleen Buda, especially this year. While fulfilling her job duties of organizing and preparing all details for the City race, she has also been working on her own campaign, as she is also a candidate on the ballot and is up for re-election for a fifth consecutive term.
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| Kathy Buda. |
With the help of Buda, TAAN has been provided with election data in municipality races, dating back to the 90s. In 1997, 23 percent of registered voters turned out for the primary, while 45 percent turned out for the general election. In 2001, the City hit a peak, with a 34 percent turnout rate during the primary and a 46 percent turnout during the general election.
But unfortunately, since then, participation seems to have dwindled. In 2005, the primary turnout was only 14 percent and the general election turnout was at 31 percent. 2009 saw a greater turnout in the primary, at 18 percent, but a smaller turnout in the general, with just 29 percent.
During this year’s primary, the turnout was 19 percent. With these figures, the City estimates that the general election will only pull in somewhere in the neighborhood of a 30 percent turnout. Buda says these figures are comparable to data in neighboring cities.
In a Q & A, Buda helps answer some key questions for our readers, as they prepare to head to the polls on Tuesday, November 5.
TAAN: How many registered voters are there in Dearborn in 2013, compared to 2012? When is the deadline to register?
Kathy Buda: At this moment, there are 61,187 registered voters compared to 2012, when we had 61,336. It changes every day, because of it being linked to the Secretary of State and people changing their addresses, which automatically changes their voting address. The deadline to register to vote in any election is 30 days prior. The deadline this year was October 7.
TAAN: How many people will be working for the city clerk’s office on Election Day? Did the workers receive any training beforehand?
KB: Our helpers will all be paid precinct workers, and all of them have received training. The training has been more intense, ever since we changed everything over to the laptop systems. With 50 precincts across the City, we try to staff each one with four people, so that’s 200 right there. Then we have an additional 24 workers, who will be handling absentee ballots.
TAAN: If local residents are interested in applying to be a poll worker on Election Day, where should they go?
KB: They should come to my office. We have applications available here at the clerk’s counter, and we certainly welcome qualified people who want to work very long days. We put them through training and they do get paid for that also. This year, we have some bilingual poll workers, but it has been very difficult to find qualified people.
TAAN: What will the city clerk’s office be doing to assist bilingual registered voters on Election Day? Will there be translators at larger bilingual precincts?
KB: We have been working with ACCESS, and they have provided us with 15 high school students who are bilingual and are willing to assist on Election Day. We will be stationing a volunteer at each precinct in the east end.
TAAN: Can residents still submit an absentee ballot if they will be unable to vote on Nov 5? Where can they pick those up? How many absentee ballots has the clerk’s office received so far?
KB: Residents can still fill out absentee ballots, but time is winding down. They can come and pick them up at the clerk’s office, Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5p.m., and we are required to stay open by law on the Saturday before the elections, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. We cannot count any of the absentee ballots until Election Day, but so far we’ve sent out 4, 692 and have received 2,831 back, which is a 60 percent return rate. We usually hit a 90 percent return rate before the election is over.
TAAN: What should residents bring with them before they vote? Can residents still vote if they have lost or misplaced their voter ID card?
KB: When you go to the polls to grab your ballot and you forgot or misplaced your ID, there is an affidavit you can sign. Our precinct workers are usually notaries, so they can notarize the affidavit and give you a ballot. But it is much easier if you do bring your driver’s license or State ID.
TAAN: If residents have concerns or complaints on Election Day, what would be the proper steps for them to take?
KB: I would hope that they would first call my office at 313.943.2031 or 313.943.2032. If they don’t want the office to be involved, then they could also call the State Election Bureau. If we are informed of a problem, we are able to make appearances to try and resolve the situation as soon as possible.
TAAN: As city clerk, is there a specific demographic of voters that you would like to see more turnout from?
KB: I do wish there was a better voter turnout for our local elections. We are anticipating around 30 percent, and that is sad. These are our future council people, mayor and clerk, and voices have to be heard and opinions have to be made at the precincts. I was at a gathering at Salina School a couple of weeks ago, and we’ve been preaching that we want people to get out and vote on Election Day. But I do also want voters to know that they can vote for up to seven city council candidates, as a lot of them have been misinformed that they can only vote for one. Also, please be sure to turn the ballot over, because the HFCC and S.M.A.R.T proposals are on the back.
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