Scheduled 2010 Elections
- May 4, 2010 School Election
- August 3, 2010 Primary Election
- November 2, 2010 General Election
Voter Registration Information
To register to vote you must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years of age by election day, and a resident of Michigan and the city or township where you are applying to vote. To qualify to vote in an upcoming election, registrations must be submitted at least 30 days in advance of the election. You may register to vote at the Office of the City Clerk or any Michigan Secretary of State branch office. You may also register to vote by mail and can download an application from the Michigan Secretary of State. Please note that a voter who registers to vote by mail must vote in person unless he or she is 60 years of age or older or has a recognized handicap.
Precinct Information
The City of Portage is divided into 21 voting precincts. Where you vote depends on where you live. To find out where you vote, either review your voter identification card or visit the Michigan Voter Information Center. This website will let you know if you are registered to vote, provide a map of polling locations, provide a listing of candidates and ballot proposals and a calendar of important election dates.
Absentee Ballots
You are eligible to receive an absentee ballot if any of the following apply:
- You are 60 years of age or older
- Expect to be absent from the community the entire time polls are open on election day
- Physically unable to attend the polls without assistance from another
- Unable to attend the polls because of the tenets of your religion
- Confined to jail awaiting arraignment or trial
- Appointed an election inspector in a precinct other than the precinct in which you reside
To request an absentee ballot for any election, please contact the Office of the City Clerk at (269) 329-4511 or send an e-mail requesting an absentee ballot application to the Office of the
City Clerk. Absentee ballot applications must be completed and mailed to the Office of the City Clerk at 7900 South Westnedge Avenue, Portage, MI 49002. You may also
download an application. Absentee ballot applications will be made available for download approximately 6 weeks before an election. Applications can be mailed to the City Clerk or dropped off. A completed application or written request accompanied by a signature is necessary before a ballot can be issued. Absentee ballots may also be picked up at the Office of the City Clerk. One important note:
ballots cannot be given out to anyone other than the voter. Prior to returning the ballot, make sure that you have signed the outside envelope; and, if mailing the ballot, place at least $.60 postage on the envelope.
The Office of the City Clerk is open the Saturday before each election from 8:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. for the convenience of those wishing to vote via absentee ballot.
Permanent Absentee Voter
The City of Portage maintains a permanent list of absentee voters for those interested voters who are over the age of 60 or permantly disabled. Members of the permanent list automatically receive an absentee ballot application that must be completed and returned prior to 2:00 p.m. on the Saturday before an election. To join the permanent list please contact the Office of the City Clerk at (269) 329-4511.
Voter Assist Terminals (AutoMARK)
Every precinct in the City of Portage is equipped with AutoMARK voting terminals. These terminals allow individuals who are visually or hearing impaired or have mobility difficulties to vote independently. The AutoMARK allows voters to utilize a touch screen or a braille-encoded keypad to mark their ballots. Ballots are then tabulated the same way as every other ballot.
Pollworkers
The City of Portage is always looking for those interested in working elections. To learn more about becoming pollworkers please contact the Department of Employee Development at (269) 329-4533. Pollworkers are paid $120 per day, assistant precinct chairs are paid $130 and precinct chairs are paid $145/day. Training is available and pollworkers receive $15 per training session.
The City of Portage maintains four cemeteries including South, Central, Dry Prairie and Indian Fields. The two active cemeteries are Central Cemetery (located near City Hall) and South Cemetery (located at 10327 South Westnedge). For pricing information, list of the cemetery rules and memorial requirements please download our cemetery brochure. If you are interested in purchasing a plot, please call the Office of the City Clerk at (269) 329-4511 and we will arrange an appointment for you to visit one of the cemeteries and make a selection.
The City of Portage strives to maintain an open government. Part of ensuring an open government is strict adherence to the Freedom of Information Act. To initiate a FOIA request, a request form must be completed and submitted to the FOIA Coordinator for the City of Portage. The FOIA Coordinator is the City Clerk. To help defray the cost of researching and copying, the City of Portage charges a fee for processing FOIA requests. The City of Portage currently charges, under most circumstances, $1 for the first page of a document and $.10 for each additional page. The City of Portage reserves the right to request a good faith deposit if the cost of research time and copying is estimated to exceed $50.00. The deposit may not exceed 1/2 the total fee. In calculating the cost of labor incurred in processing the request, the City of Portage is prohibited from charging more than the hourly wage of the lowest paid employee capable of retrieving the information necessary to comply with a request. Requests can be hand-delivered, mailed to the City Clerk, e-mailed to city clerk@portagemi.gov or faxed to (269) 324-8070. Once the information has been compiled and notification of availability submitted to the requestor, the requestor has 30 days to retrieve the information. After the 30-day period, the FOIA request will be considered closed.
Upon receiving a written request, the City of Portage has five business days to do one of the following:
- Grant the request
- Issue a written notice denying the request
- Grant the request in part and deny the request in part
- Issue a notice extending for not more than 10 business days the period during which the City of Portage will respond to the request.
Should the request be denied, FOIA provides an appeals process.
