JACKSON COUNTY, MI -- The final unofficial results are in for Jackson County’s August primary and across communities, voters cast ballots for dozens of local and countywide elections.
Dozens of incumbents retained their seats and open seats had strong primary races. Several notable contested races will go on to the November ballot contested, such as District 9 in the Jackson County Board of Commissioners, Jackson County Sheriff and the 65th District of the state House of Representatives. Check out the final unofficial results here.
Live results: Jackson County voters head to the polls in August primary election
But, here are some key takeaways from the Aug. 4 primary:
One in three registered voters cast a ballot
Jackson County’s voter turnout was within range of previous August primaries, according to election data. Overall, about 33% of the county’s 106,071 registered voters participated in Tuesday’s election, according to the unofficial results.
In the precinct-by-precinct results, Summit Township’s precinct two in the northwestern corner of the township had the highest turnout rate in the county at 43.57%, or 1,037 ballots cast. The lowest turnout rate in the county was the city of Jackson’s ward five, precinct three, where 114 voters submitted a ballot.
Here are the turnout rates from previous elections:
- August 2018: 30.39%
- November 2018: 55%
- August 2016: 17.18%
- November 2016: 62.69%
Results will become official once they are certified by the Jackson County Board of Canvassers.
Sheriff race set for November
Republicans in Jackson County chose Gary Schuette to represent their ticket in the November general election. Schuette, an attorney and former veteran Jackson Police Department detective, defeated David Elwell, the former Columbia Township police chief and District 9 commissioner on the county Board of Commissioners, and Kenneth Carpenter, a former substitute teacher and reserve police officer.
Schuette received 9,789 votes in the Aug. 4 primary election, a strong victory over Elwell, who received 6,873 votes, and Carpenter, who received 2,864 votes.
Schuette will face Democrat Val Cochran Toops on Nov. 3. The two are vying to replace current Sheriff Steve Rand after he declined to seek reelection. Rand is facing a lawsuit filed against him and Jackson County which states he is a “multifaced bigot” for his discriminatory comments against women, minorities and disabled people. Rand faced a failed recall effort and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declined three formal requests to remove him from office.
Next, Schuette said he’s taking the rest of this week off to recover from the primary run and get some sleep after staying up for more than 24 hours waiting for votes to be tallied.
“I’m going to hit right at it again,” he said in Wednesday. “I’m going to keep going after it with my message. I’m going to keep pounding it out there so I can make sure everybody has a chance to ask me questions.”
County residents approve increased senior services property tax
Residents will continue to fund the Jackson County Department of Aging after a property tax proposal passed 17,304-12,401, or with about 58% percent approval, in the Aug. 4 primary election, according to the county’s unofficial results.
The current 0.25-mill senior services millage expires this year, but the new millage proposal is for 0.6 mills, or an increase of 0.35 mills. Services won’t increase with the new funds, though, county officials said. Instead, the increase allows the county to eliminate its $743,000 general fund spending on the Department on Aging.
A house valued at $100,000 will have a $30 per year tax for the new millage – $17.50 more than the old millage. The millage is expected to bring in $2.86 million in its first year and will be levied for 10 years.
MORE: Jackson County voters approve senior services tax with 58% approval
Blackman Township residents choose Democrat, Republican candidates for County Commission election in November
The field is set for the Jackson County Board of Commissioners election in November. Two candidates will compete to represent District 9, which covers Blackman Township, on Nov. 3: Democrat Daveda Quinn and Republican Ray Snell.
Quinn, a community activist, said she was grateful for the primary win and a chance to help Blackman Township residents. If elected, she wants to focus on addressing the county’s homeless population, the opiate addiction problem locally, economic insecurity caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic and water and wastewater treatment infrastructure in the county.
“All of that’s going to make a difference in the next century,” Quinn said Wednesday. “I want to work and focus on those things to help us -- the basic needs that we need as a people is a must.”
Snell, a realtor and former elected official in Blackman Township, attributed his narrow win -- just 22 votes -- to diligently knocking on voters’ doors even during the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said if elected, he wants to address the tightening budget due to changes in revenue from the pandemic and consider how the county could address the potential eviction crisis many renters and mortgage-payers could face in the coming months. He said he also wants to make sure millage proposals are on the November ballot instead of off-year, May or August elections.
“A greater amount of people should vote on raising our taxes,” Snell said Wednesday.
Republican incumbent David Elwell vacated the seat to run for Jackson County sheriff. He lost the Republican primary to attorney and former Jackson police detective Gary Schuette.
Elsewhere in the county, Commissioner incumbents facing challengers in their primaries held their own. District 1 Commissioner Tony Bair, R-Sandstone; District 2 Commissioner Rodney Walz, R-Grass Lake, and District 6 Commissioner Earl Poleski R-Spring Arbor Township, will all advance uncontested to the November election.
MORE: Incumbents win primaries for Jackson County commissioner seats