(11/02/19) - On Tuesday, mid-Michigan voters will head to the polls.
Thanks to a new law, voters in Michigan can now request an absentee ballot without giving a reason.
"If you want to see a difference happen in your community, you need to show up to the ballot box," Rafael Mojica, a Flint resident, said.
Antwoin Nelson, another Flint resident, added, "Right now, what our city really needs is hope."
Flint city voters will head to the polls to select their mayor for the next three years: Incumbent Karen Weaver or State Representative Sheldon Neeley. Even after five years, a top concern for voters is addressing this city's water crisis.
"We absolutely need to continue keeping on the radar on all levels of government with the water crisis. Infrastructure is critical. We need to start seeing more funds coming into place to make that quality of life better," Mojica said.
Voters also think to move Flint forward, the mayor must be someone who's an ambassador for the city and its people.
"For the mayors to just come out and just advocate that they really are here for the city, that they do care for the people that stay inside the city, that's an important thing," Nelson said.
Nelson is 22-years-old, and this election is the first time he's voting, and he feels empowered to do so.
"The importance of voting is just that if you want to make an impact, your words can only go so far. In order to really do something, you have to vote," he said.
Now, Michigan is expanding the access to the ballot box. A new law that passed last year allows Michigan voters to request an absentee ballot without giving a reason.
"We noted in the mayoral primary that it did increase by two percent compared to the previous mayoral primary. Of course, we're anticipating that there would be probably an increase to some extent in this particular election as well," Inez Brown said. Brown is the City Clerk for the city of Flint.
Brown says there was a "steady flow" of voters at the Flint City Clerk's Office today.
The final deadline for voters to turn in their absentee ballot is Tuesday, November 5th by 8:00 p.m.