Voter
Registration
To be
eligible to vote, a citizen must
register at least 30 days before the
election. A citizen who is 18 years
of age may register to vote at the
Secretary of State Office or the
City Clerk's Office.
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PHOTO IDENTIFICATION
REQUIREMENT
Under a Michigan law
passed in 1996 and
upheld in July by the
Michigan Supreme Court,
ALL voters are required
to show photo
identification to vote
at the polls. Voters
without identification
will be required to fill
out and sign an
affidavit in order to
receive a ballot.
Accepted forms of photo
identification are:
Driver's license or
personal identification
card issued by Michigan
or another state
Federal or state
government issued photo
identification
US passport
Current student
identification with
photo from high school
or accredited
institution of higher
education
Military identification
card with photo
Tribal identification
card with photo
The identification
requirement does not
apply to persons voting
by absentee ballot.
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Mason Elections are administered by City Clerk, Marty
Colburn, along with Deputy City Clerk Deborah
Cwiertniewicz and Election Assistant Nancy Klco.
School, Local, State and Federal elections are
facilitated at three election precincts located at City
Hall, 201 W. Ash Street.
Mason, as of January 2007, has 5,586 registered voters.
Voter turnout percentages range from 50-80% depending on
the individual election. Historically presidential
elections draw the most, while school election turnout
is less than the others.
You can register to vote, change your voting address or
request an application for an absentee ballot by
contacting any city or township Clerk or by visiting any
Secretary of State office. Online forms are available
through the Secretary of State website by clicking
here. After filling in the online
forms, they must be printed and mailed.
For those who are unable to make it to the polls on
election day, absentee ballots are available. A
voter must return a completed absentee voter application
to the City Clerk, before being mailed their ballot.
In 2004 Mason, and the State of Michigan for that
matter, did away with punch-card style voting and
instituted what is called the "optical scan" system.
Instead of punching holes with that little tool, voters
use a marker to connect a broken arrow next to the
candidate(s) of their choice listed on a paper ballot.
No computers or screens are used by voters; you mark
your paper ballot, slide it inside a cover to conceal
your votes and exit the voting booth. Voters then
"feed" their ballot from the secrecy cover into a
tabulator that tallies the votes and secures the paper
ballot.
Mason City Councilmembers are elected to four-year terms. To become
a candidate for a Council seat, one must file petitions
with the City Clerk that contain a minimum 25 signatures of
registered city voters.
Elections Department
201 West Ash Street
517.676.9155
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