On May 6, voters in three jurisdictions – the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township – will be asked to approve a 0.7 mill tax to support improvements to transportation service. The board of the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority voted at its Feb. 20, 2014 meeting to place the question on the ballot.

In Ann Arbor, 1,529 absentee ballots were sent out in the first wave.

Of the 1,529 ballots, the initial distribution across Ann Arbor’s five wards appears to be skewed somewhat more heavily toward voters in Ward 2, with roughly 27% of the ballots requested from that ward. Based on requested ballots, the lightest participation so far is in Ward 1, with roughly 11% of the AV ballots requested from that ward. Precise figures are difficult to calculate, because some of the combined precincts for this election cross ward boundaries.

Registered voters can apply for an absentee ballot by mail until May 3. Registered voters can also apply for and vote an absentee ballot in-person at the city clerk’s office at city hall on the day before the election. The absentee ballot application form can be mailed or hand delivered to the city clerk at 301 E. Huron St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104. It can also be scanned and emailed to cityclerk@a2gov.org.