Many eyes were on the District 2 recall election on May 7, 2024. But the turnout in that district was a dismal 20.35%—one of the lowest turnouts among all issues voted on across Ottawa County on Tuesday. Low voter turnout is nothing new for District 2, which is often at the bottom of the list.

• May 7, 2024 special election: 20.35%

• February 2, 2024 presidential primary: 18.61%

• November 8, 2022 general election: 48.49%

• August 2, 2022 primary election: 21.66%

• May 3, 2022 special election: 10.06%

Even in a general election, District 2 has not been able to produce a turnout above 50%.

With recall elections being rare, and this one being in May rather than during a primary or general election, a comparison is difficult. The closest comparison would be the August 2, 2022 primary.

• 20,888 registered voters

• Only 12%, or 2,502, voted for winner Democrat Chris Kleinjans

• Only 8%, or 1,665, voted for Republican Commissioner Lucy Ebel

• Kleinjans’ total absentee vote was 1,628

• Ebel’s total absentee vote was 888

• Kleinjans’ total “in person” vote was 874

• Ebel’s total “in person” vote was 777

• Kleinjans won every precinct

The Democrats had 56% of those who voted in the general election show up for this special election, whereas the Republicans only had 33%.

• 20,265 registered voters

• Only 7.6%, or 1,560, voted for winner Republican Lucy Ebel—105 fewer voters than the May 7th recall election

• The Democrat absentee total was 793—835 less than May 7th recall election

• The Democrat “in person” total was 407—467 less than May 7th recall election

• The Republican absentee total was 1,171—283 more than May 7th recall election

• The Republican “in person” total was 1,617—840 more than May 7th recall election

• Ebel won every precinct but one, with Democrat candidates winning no precinct

One of the most important rights of American citizens is the right to vote, and yet the majority of voters in District 2 failed to exercise that right on May 7, 2024.

• Donald Trump’s vote total was 1,561

• Joe Biden’s vote total was 974

• Trump won every precinct

• The Democrat absentee ballot count was 898

• The Republican absentee ballot count was 1,379

The 2024 presidential primary was only two months before the recall election and the absentee ballot count basically flipped in District 2.

• 20,573 registered voters

• Lucy Ebel beat Joe Spaulding with 24.7% of the vote

• Ebel won 7 of 10 precincts

• The Democrat absentee ballot count was 2,071

• The Democrat “in person” vote was 2,440

• The Republican absentee count was 1,575

• The Republican “in person” vote was 3,514

Did the citizens of District 2 fail in their civic duty? How many voters in our county have fallen into complacency?

Recall Election
May 7, 2024

Ottawa County, MI