HOLLAND (WHTC-AM/FM) — Despite a webpage glitch, Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck declared Tuesday’s busy election day a success.
He cited a greater number of election workers and more voting booths for helping voters get in and get out of their polling places relatively quickly.
Ottawa County had close to a 65 percent voter turnout, just over 130,000 people who showed up to cast a ballot. That’s higher than a typical midterm election. In 2014, 48 percent turned out but in 2016, the last election for President, 72 percent of the county’s registered voters showed up to cast ballots.
He said slightly more than 33,000 absentee ballots were requested — and all but 800 were accounted for by Wednesday morning. In the 2016 Presidential election, he said, 34,000 absentee ballots were distributed. Any absentee ballots returned after 8 p.m. cannot be counted, he said.
Election results now need to be audited and certified, a process he said that, by law, must be done within 14 days for results to be official.
Roebuck said the goal of all election workers is to deliver accurate results and praised the Ottawa County election team for doing “a fantastic job” and handling the day well.
For complete election results, visit https://whtc.com/election. To listen to the entire interview, visit whtc.com/podcasts
