A midterm election refers to the election cycle when the president is not on the ballot. Voter turnout regularly drops in midterm elections and has done so since the 1840s. The last time midterm turnout exceeded the previous presidential election was in 1838—70.8% of those eligible voted in the 1838 midterm, compared to 56.5% who voted in the 1836 presidential election.

According to centerforpolitics.org, midterm turnout averages about 17 points lower than presidential turnout. Also of note, those who vote in midterm elections historically are the most informed and educated voters, realizing their duty at the polls and valuing their right to vote.

Have Ottawa County voters become more politically involved? Compared to previous midterm years, how does Ottawa County fare?

The Ottawa County Elections Department has a user-friendly website for looking at past elections. The public can find information—results of May elections, primaries, and generals—all the way back to November 8, 2011.

There would be no reason for local journalists to not have data-driven information to pass onto the citizens of Ottawa County, unless those journalists were trying to guide their own bias into the minds of the public.

An example of activist reporting of the 2022 midterm election is the Holland Sentinel article entitled, “Did the majority of Ottawa County support Ottawa Impact at the polls? The data says no.”

Below is a breakdown of out-of-context quotes that appear in the Sentinel‘s article, followed by the context which was eliminated from the article.

“Voter turnout for August in Ottawa County was 34.3 percent… (continued in the next quote).” —Holland Sentinel

While true, the article failed to mention that 34.3% was the highest voter turnout in Ottawa County for a midterm primary.

The August 2022 midterm primary brought out a record 76,838 voters. The previous primary in 2018 turned out 62,501, or 31.6%, of registered voters in Ottawa County.

A full 14,337 more voters chose to vote in 2022 than in 2018.

34.3% of registered voters voted. View compiled data here.

31.6% of registered voters voted. View compiled data here.

19.5% of registered voters voted. View compiled data here.

32.2% of registered voters voted. View compiled data here.

19.6% of registered voters voted. View compiled data here.

“(Continued from previous quote)… 34.3 percent meaning of the 224,301 registered voters who were eligible to cast ballots, 66 percent of them didn’t vote.” —Holland Sentinel

A truly dismal fact for sure, but context is missed again when not comparing data from previous elections. Looking only at midterm primary elections, Ottawa County did better in 2022 than in previous elections.

2022 August midterm: 34.3% voted, 65.7% did not vote
2018 August midterm: 31.6% voted, 68.4% did not vote
2014 August midterm: 19.5% voted, 80.5% did not vote
2010 August midterm: 32.2% voted, 67.8% did not vote
2006 August midterm: 19.6% voted, 80.4% did not vote

“Voting data also shows significant disparities between the number of ballots cast in each district and the number of voters who actually selected a candidate for their local commissioner race.”

“In the six contested races decided by default in August, where an Ottawa Impact candidate defeated a Republican incumbent with no challenger in the general, the districts (4, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 11) had a collective 111,610 registered voters, but only 42,570 (38.1 percent) of those people cast ballots, according to Ottawa County election data.” —Holland Sentinel

Once again these are true facts but lack comparative data to get a full picture.

In the August 2018 midterm primary, in the nine contested races decided by default, the districts (1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11) had a collective 162,928 registered voters, but only 52,406 (32.2%) of those people cast ballots.

Compared to the 38.1% of voters who turned out in 2022, the August 2018 midterm primary recorded 5.9% fewer voters.

“Of those who voted, even fewer made a selection as to who they wanted for county commissioner: 33,863 or an average of 30.3 percent across the six districts voted for their representative.” —Holland Sentinel

Had the time been taken to do due diligence and compare prior years, the journalist would have discovered that in 2018 the commissioner vote turnout was lower than in 2022.

Of those who voted in the 2018 midterm primary, 21,978, or an average of 20.73% across those same six districts, made a selection as to whom they wanted for county commissioner.

In other words, 9.57% fewer voters indicated their choice for commissioner in the 2018 midterm primary than in the 2022 midterm primary.

In 2018, 38,515 Ottawa County voters filled in the ballot circle for one of the 16 commissioner candidates.

Even so, the Sentinel tries to spin the narrative of the races decided in the August 2022 midterm primary as being “low commissioner voter turnout,” and ends the article with seemingly bleak stats.

The turnout and stats are bleak when looked at through the narrow scope provided.

However, while the percentages do portray a low turnout when looking at just one year alone, the picture isn’t the same when examined with comparative data from the previous midterm in 2018.

2018 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 18.5%
2022 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 35.7%, up a full 17.2 points

2018 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 11.4%
2022 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 19.68%, up 8.28 points

2018 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 21.2%
2022 Commissioner Voter turnout: 23.11%, up 1.91 points

2018 Commissioner Voter turnout: 24.63%
2022 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 35.22%, up 10.59 points

2018 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 24.44%
2022 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 24.76%, up .32 points

2018 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 20.97%
2022 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 27.54%, up 6.57 points

2018 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 15.39%
2022 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 27%, up 11.61 points

Interesting to note:
From 2020 to 2022, District 8 lost 2.372 registered voters, and Commissioner Rhodea was still able to raise the turnout by 11.61 points and win her race with 71% of the vote.

2018 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 17.58%
2022 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 25.18%, up 7.6 points

2018 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 14%
2022 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 32.27%, up 18.27 points

2018 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 16.9%
2022 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 29.45%, up 12.55 points

2018 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 28.6%
2022 Commissioner Voter Turnout: 27.93%, down .67

The Holland Sentinel tried to diminish the results of the voters of Ottawa County by only giving a narrow look.

When the narrative is left unchecked, misinformation runs rampant even in the boardroom. One example occurred on June 27, 2023.

Vince Bush, Holland Township Treasurer, came to speak to the Board of Commissioners. He stated that he “represents over 42,000 residents, and 80% of them vote.”

Looking at the data for both the 2022 midterm primary and general elections, that statement is false. Only 24.19% of Holland Township voters voted in August 2022 and 52.31% voted in November 2022.

52.31% is not even close to Vince Bush’s claim of 80%.

View the August 2022 precinct results here.
View the November 2022 precinct results here.

Ottawa County Election Clerk, Justin Roebuck, has not been hesitant to correct what he believes is misinformation. But, could he have corrected the narrative on election results?

Looking at all the election data, past and present, Ottawa County voters consistently are becoming more engaged with local politics.

While living through the government response to Covid-19, many Ottawa County residents watched the local government go along with the heavy hand of the state and federal governments. In response, they spoke their minds, at the polls, and voted for new local leaders.

A look at all the data proves Ottawa County voters became more involved in 2022.