EAST LANSING, Mich. — On Election Day, lines for voter registration at Michigan State University were wrapped around the building. Hundreds of students were in line for hours at a time.
The East Lansing City Clerk's Office was present and had to call in representatives from the Ingham County Clerk's Office to help move the line along. We talked with Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum about those long lines that lasted well into election night.
According to the clerk, there were 1390 residents in East Lansing that registered vote on Election Day. Students who were waiting two or more hours in line were excited to vote.
"This is our way of trying to get the world back on track and voice our opinions," said one MSU sophomore.
But most of the students were asking the question of why registering to vote took so long.
"I think the first cause is we now have seen same-day voter registration as an option," Byrum said.
She continued to explain that most students that were in line were registering to vote with their new East Lansing addresses leading to longer wait times. Another reason is the lack of attention to election administration.
"Some of my staff that had the credentials were able to help process absentee ballots for the clerk's office. I think it's important to know right now, that election administration was deemed critical infrastructure, but you wouldn't know it based on how we have been funded, supported and respected," Byrum said.
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