Column: Help Collect Early Election Results

Unofficial results for Tuesday’s local primary election races will be available on the Washtenaw County clerk’s election results page. Polls close at 8 p.m. so the earliest results will start showing up on the clerk’s website a couple hours after that.

Example of an Ann Arbor voter machine results tape from 2013.

We’d like to improve on that “delay.”

We’re asking regular folks throughout the city to visit a precinct after the polls close at 8 p.m. – and report the numbers from the publicly posted paper results tape.

Augmenting the civic satisfaction you’ll get from helping to report on our local democratic doings, you can also earn 1,000 points in the Ann Arbor District Library’s Summer Game. The mechanics of retrieving the game code are included below.

Most naturally, but not necessarily, voters would re-visit the place they voted earlier in the day. Or some voters might choose to vote close to 8 p.m. and then just stick around while the polls shut down, waiting for that magical sound of the voting machine printing off the results tape.

We’ll log the early results in a publicly visible Google spreadsheet, so that residents citywide can track the earliest possible (albeit completely unofficial) results as they come in. [That spreadsheet could currently be populated with some test data; please do not be alarmed.]

If you’d like to help out, then please let us know that you’re planning to lend a hand: leave a comment on this article; shoot me an email (dave.askins@annarborchronicle.com); Tweet at me (@a2chronicle), or flag me down if you spot me traveling through town.

Below we’ve included a list of polling places and a map, as well as some basic instructions for those who have never picked up early results before. 

Basic Guidelines at Poll Closing

Here are some basic guidelines – worth remembering even if you’ve done this before:

• Do not intrude. Every polling place is supposed to have a blue sign designating the “Public Area.” If you arrive at the polls to pick up early results before 8 p.m., then head for the blue sign. But even after 8 p.m. the “Public Area” is a good place to stay – because it will keep you out of the way of election workers.
• Respect the election workers. An election worker’s day starts at 6 a.m. So at 8 p.m. when you’re at the polls picking up early results, they will have already logged a 14-hour day, at least. Be polite. Do what they tell you. If they ask you what you’re doing there, explain that you’re picking up early results. They have myriad tasks to complete – so don’t  make gratuitous small talk with them.
• Just one tape. Accommodating the public’s desire to find out early results is reflected in just one election worker task: Printing out one public paper results tape to post at the polling place door. Don’t ask them to print out your own private tape. There will be others there collecting results – campaign volunteers and media. So you’ll have a chance to band together and collaborate. Maybe one of you will read off the results to the others, making it easier for everybody. Not cool is to grab the tape and head off to a corner where nobody else can see it until you’re done.
• Be patient. If everything goes perfectly, the tape could be printed off 10 minutes after the polls close. If not everything goes smoothly, it could be longer. Much longer. Don’t ask, “How much longer?” or “Why is it taking so long?” And don’t ask if you can help – because you can’t help. You will only make things worse. Everything that has to be done must be done by an election worker.

Reporting Mechanics, AADL Game Codes

If you’re planning to help out, then please let us know in advance – because that will help me get familiar with the cast of characters who might be contacting me on Election Night: leave a comment on this article; shoot me an email (dave.askins@annarborchronicle.com); Tweet at me (@a2chronicle); call or text me (734.645.2633).

You can use any of those methods to report the results on Election Night. We’re focusing on the Ann Arbor mayor’s race and the city council races in Ward 1, Ward 2 and Ward 3.

How do you get your game code for Ann Arbor District Library’s summer game? If you send in an early election results report from a precinct, then I’ll send you the game code. If you report by email, I’ll send the code by email. If you send it by text, I’ll text-reply the game code. If you Tweet it at me, I’ll direct-message you the game code on Twitter. If you leave a voicemail, I’ll call you back and give you the game code.

Polling Place Locations

Here’s a dynamic map of polling locations in the city of Ann Arbor.

In the list below, we’ll indicate in bold  those locations for which at least one person has volunteered to pick up early results and report them to The Chronicle. Don’t let that dissuade you from targeting that location, too. But ideally, we’d like to get coverage as broad as possible.

• 1-1 Michigan Union –530 S. State St.
• 1-2 Michigan Union – 530 S. State St.
• 1-3 Community High School – 401 N. Division
• 1-4 Community Center – 625 N. Main St.
• 1-5 Northside School – 912 Barton Dr.
• 1-6 Northside School – 912 Barton Dr.
• 1-7 Northwood Comm Cntr (Family Housing) – 1000 McIntyre Dr.
• 1-8 Skyline High School – 2552 N. Maple Rd.
• 1-9 Clague Middle School – 2616 Nixon Rd.
• 1-10 Arrowwood Hills Comm Center – 2566 Arrowwood Trl.
• 2-1 Northwood Comm Cntr (Family Housing) – 1000 McIntyre Dr.
• 2-2 Palmer Commons – 100 Washtenaw Ave.
• 2-3 Angell School – 1608 S. University
• 2-4 Angell School – 1608 S. University
• 2-5 AA Assembly of God – 2455 Washtenaw Ave
• 2-6 Clague Middle School – 2616 Nixon Rd.
• 2-7 King School – 3800 Waldenwood Ln
• 2-8 First United Methodist Church – 1001 Green Road
• 2-9 Thurston School – 2300 Prairie St.
• 3-1 Michigan League – 911 N. University
• 3-2 Michigan League – 911 N. University
• 3-3 Tappan Middle School – 2251 E. Stadium Blvd
• 3-4 Allen School – 2560 Towner Blvd
• 3-5 University Townhouses Center – 3200 Braeburn Cir
• 3-6 Scarlett Middle School – 3300 Lorraine St.
• 3-7 Allen School – 2560 Towner Blvd
• 3-8 Pittsfield School – 2543 Pittsfield Blvd.
• 3-9 Scarlett Middle School – 3300 Lorraine St.
• 4-1 Michigan Union – 530 S. State St.
• 4-2 Mary St. Polling Place – 926 Mary St.
• 4-3 U-M Coliseum – 721 S. Fifth Ave.
• 4-4 Pioneer High School – 601 W. Stadium Blvd.
• 4-5 St. Clare Church/Temple Beth Emeth – 2309 Packard St.
• 4-6 Cobblestone Farm – 2781 Packard St.
• 4-7 Dicken School – 2135 Runnymede
• 4-8 Pioneer High School – 601 W. Stadium Blvd.
• 4-9 Lawton School – 2250 S. Seventh St.
• 5-1 Ann Arbor District Library – 343 S. Fifth Ave.
• 5-2 Bach School – 600 W. Jefferson St.
• 5-3 2nd Baptist Church – 850 Red Oak Rd.
• 5-4 Slauson Middle School – 1019 W. Washington
• 5-5 Slauson Middle School – 1019 W. Washington
• 5-6 Eberwhite School – 800 Soule Blvd.
• 5-7 Dicken School – 2135 Runnymede
• 5-8 Lakewood School – 344 Gralake Ave.
• 5-9 Haisley School – 825 Duncan St.
• 5-10 Abbot School – 2670 Sequoia Pkwy
• 5-11 Forsythe Middle School – 1655 Newport Rd.
• AVCB Ann Arbor Justice Center – 4th Floor Conf. Room 301 E. Huron St.

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