Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. This guide covers the dates, the ways to vote and the ballot questions in Gratiot County. It takes no position on any of them.

The ballot questions below come from the county clerk’s unofficial candidate and proposal list dated Aug. 27, 2026. That list is not final. Your own ballot depends on where you live. We will update this page when the clerk posts the final list.

Dates to know

  • Monday, Oct. 19. Last day to register to vote online or by mail. After that you can still register, but only in person at your city or township clerk’s office with proof of where you live, up to 8 p.m. on Election Day.
  • Saturday, Oct. 24 through Sunday, Nov. 1. The early in-person voting period that state law requires as a minimum. Check with the county clerk for the site and hours in Gratiot County.
  • Friday, Oct. 30, 5 p.m. Deadline to ask for an absentee ballot to be mailed to you. Ballots can still be picked up in person at your clerk’s office after that.
  • Tuesday, Nov. 3. Election Day. Absentee ballots must reach your clerk by 8 p.m.

These dates follow Michigan election law. Confirm them, find your polling place and see your own sample ballot at the state’s voter information site or with your local clerk.

County question: public transit millage

Update, Oct. 2, 2026: this question may no longer be on the ballot. On June 2 the Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 to put a county-wide transit millage before voters on Nov. 3: up to 0.5 mill for four years, estimated to raise about $1.02 million in its first year. On July 21 the board voted 4-0 on a motion to “Resend” that resolution, and the county clerk’s unofficial list of Nov. 3 questions, proofed Aug. 27, does not include it. The county board’s Aug. 4 minutes, in Commissioner Bunting’s report on the City of Alma, say “they are disappointed that the Transportation Millage did not go forward.” The county has not told us which is correct. Check with the Gratiot County Clerk before you vote. Our report (dated Sept. 22), with the updates · Corrections & Updates

City of Alma: library building millage

Up to 1 mill for six years, 2027 through 2032, for capital improvements, repairs and maintenance of the Alma Public Library building and grounds. Estimated first-year revenue: $235,000. The ballot calls it a renewal. Our report.

School questions

  • Breckenridge Community Schools bond. Borrow up to $12.4 million for elementary additions, remodeling, security, technology, sites and buses. The ballot estimates no net increase in the 2027 debt levy. Our report.
  • St. Louis Public Schools operating millage. An increase of up to 3 mills for seven years, 2026 through 2032, on property other than principal residences, to restore the district’s authority to levy the full 18 mills after required rollbacks. The ballot estimates that 1.3086 mills would be levied in 2026, raising about $110,733.
  • Merrill Community Schools operating millage renewal. Renews and restores the 18-mill levy on property other than principal residences for ten years, 2027 through 2036. Estimated 2027 revenue: $779,321. Applies to the part of Gratiot County in the Merrill district.
  • Shepherd Public Schools bond. Borrow up to $14.9 million for remodeling, roofing, heating and cooling, and the elementary playground and site. Applies to the part of Gratiot County in the Shepherd district.
  • St. Johns Public Schools bond. Borrow up to $40 million for remodeling, security, a transportation building, additions, technology, athletic facilities and buses. The ballot estimates no net increase in the 2027 levy. Applies to the part of Gratiot County in the St. Johns district.
  • Saginaw Intermediate School District career and technical education millage. Renews 0.9962 mill and adds 0.0038 mill for ten years, 2028 through 2037. Applies only to Gratiot County voters who live in that intermediate district.

Statewide questions

  • Proposal 2026-01. Whether to convene a convention of elected delegates in 2027 to draft a general revision of the state constitution, which would then go to voters.
  • Proposal 2026-02. An initiated law that would bar campaign contributions from regulated electric and gas utilities and from contractors with more than $250,000 a year in government contracts, and would extend campaign-finance disclosure rules to more kinds of political communications, including online ones.

Offices on the ballot

Gratiot County ballots include governor, secretary of state, attorney general, U.S. senator, U.S. representative, state senator, state representative, state education boards and judicial offices. Locally they include:

  • County road commissioner, one six-year term: Jennifer Lobdell (Democrat) and Aaron L. VanHorn Sr. (Republican), the nominees from the Aug. 4 primary.
  • Alma City Commission, four seats. The clerk’s list shows the race as one four-year term, vote for four. The city’s website says the three top vote-getters serve four-year terms and the fourth-place finisher serves two years. Three candidates filed.
  • St. Louis mayor and two council seats.
  • Village offices in Ashley, Breckenridge and Perrinton, and library board seats.
  • School board seats in the Alma, Ashley, Breckenridge, Carson City-Crystal, Fulton, Ithaca, Merrill, Ovid-Elsie, Shepherd, St. Johns, St. Louis and Vestaburg districts, including a partial term in Ashley. Which board races you see depends on your district.
  • Partial-term township offices (terms ending in 2028): supervisor, treasurer and trustee in Fulton Township; trustee in Lafayette Township; clerk in Washington Township; and clerk in Seville Township, where the clerk’s list shows no candidate.
  • Montcalm Community College trustee, two six-year seats, for voters in that district.

For every candidate’s name, use the clerk’s list linked below. We have not printed the full candidate list here because the clerk’s list is unofficial and subject to change.

How the last election went

In the Aug. 4 primary, 29.3 percent of registered voters in the county cast a ballot, and all 12 local tax questions passed. Turnout by precinct and every result.

See an error or something missing? Write to contactus@gcwhistleblower.com and we will fix it and note the change here.