Community updates: Tuesday, Nov. 3

Election Day voting ends in Kent County with absentee ballots returned for nearly half of its registered voters

Election Day voting has ended in Kent County as of 8pm, with a county official reporting minimal wait times across many polling places, and upkeep of voter safety amid concerns about lack of physical distancing.

“We’ve been extremely pleased that Election Day in Kent County has gone very, very well,” Kent County’s Chief Deputy Clerk, Rob Macomber, said.

“Certainly, the fact that nearly half of our eligible voters chose to vote absentee has helped to minimize wait times at the polls, and in-person voters today have been able to space out to abide by social distancing guidelines and vote safely.”

Macomber acknowledged lines still existed at various polling places, and attributed much of this to physical distancing measures.

“Wherever it appeared there were long lines, that spacing was usually the cause,” he said.

225,860 registered voters as of 10:30am on Tuesday had been issued absentee ballots, according to Macomber, which is 45 percent of the county’s registered voters at that time. 91 percent of those voters have already returned their absentee ballots.

With residents still able to register to vote on Election Day across Michigan, the percentage of Kent County’s voters who did so absentee will be adjusted following final numbers. Absentee ballots are also still being counted.

“Our absentee counting boards throughout the county are working diligently to process those votes so that we’ll be able to report complete, unofficial results as soon as possible at KentCountyVotes.com,” Macomb added.

Grand Rapids, Kent County reporting real-time voting results

The City of Grand Rapids and Kent County Clerk’s Office are both reporting real-time, unofficial voting results for Grand Rapids and Kent County, respectively. Results began trickling in after polls closed at 8pm.

Grand Rapids’ unofficial results are available on the city’s Elections page on its website. Kent County’s are available through its website shared by Macomber – KentCountyVotes.com.

Past election results are also available on the city's website.

Free mental health resources offered by the MDHHS

For Michiganders experiencing mental or emotional distress throughout this week’s emerging election results – and beyond – free resources are available through the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).

One resource is the MDHHS’ Stay Well hotline, which was originally launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The MDHHS has promoted the hotline online this week in light of the election. It’s available 24/7 by calling 888-535-6136.

Residents calling the hotline can press “8” during its leading prompt to speak with a Stay Well counselor. The counselors, though not licensed professionals, have received specialized training from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s Disaster Technical Assistance Center on how to provide emotional support.

The Stay Well website – available at Michigan.gov/StayWell – offers additional resources, such as a Crisis Text Line, mindfulness and meditation guidance, and more.

Sharing your stories

The Rapidian encourages local residents to share their own stories related to civic, economic, and public health developments in the Grand Rapids area on The Rapidian’s platform. To get started as a community reporter, visit TheRapidian.org/write.