A temporary order made just this past Saturday increasing access for Michigan voters who are blind, is already having an effect in Kalamazoo County. And while the order gave little time to prepare for today's election, it is, perhaps, a good preparation for future elections, especially the national Election Day on November 3rd.

The Secretary of State's office announced Monday, two voters — "one in the city of Kalamazoo and one in Oshtemo Township — completed applications for absentee ballots and submitted them to their clerks. Within minutes of their requests being processed, Michigan Department of State staff had made their ballots accessible to them."

With few, if any, people having any idea how the continuing restrictions being invoked by the global pandemic will play out, there are still many more questions than answers. But Tuesday election gives officials a way to see how actions play out on a very limited basis. Election officials in Warren, for example, are limiting the number of voters allowed into City Hall to cast ballots, and election workers are being supplied with PPE, but ultimately, they say, they have seen an increase in the number of absentee ballots being requested.

With what is being predicted as a very hotly contested national election in November, absentee ballots may play a critical role in deciding the leadership of this country for the next four years.

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