Ann Arbor clerk's office opens satellite locations on U-M campus for November election

The Ann Arbor City Clerk’s office is partnering with the University of Michigan’s (U-M) Penny Stamps School of Art and Design to open two new temporary satellite locations on U-M's north and central campuses. In addition to voter registration, both offices also offer on-site ballot drop boxes.

The locations allow citizens, particularly students who may have just recently become eligible to vote or changed addresses, a convenient alternative to visiting the city clerk’s main office at City Hall.

“The campus community, and anyone from the public, have an opportunity to register and vote early through our no-reason absentee ballot process,” says City Clerk Jacqueline Beaudry.

Beaudry’s office opened its first satellite location for the 2020 election. The single satellite office at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA), 525 S. State St. in Ann Arbor, opened shortly after new state legislation introduced both same-day registration and “no-reason” absentee voting to Michigan voters. 

“It was a huge success in 2020, and we really wanted to do that again,” she says.

This year, the UMMA satellite office reopened on Sept. 27. A new North Campus location in the Duderstadt Center, 2281 Bonisteel Blvd. in Ann Arbor, will open a couple of weeks later, on Oct. 12. Both offices will remain open through Election Day on Nov. 8. 

Designed by professors at the Stamps School, both satellite offices will also contain art and informational presentations designed to provide further education to visitors. Installations like a giant ballot on the floor of the Duderstadt office help to share the importance of voting and aim to educate new voters on the importance of candidates and issues on the 2022 ballot. 

“There's a lot of education about what's on the ballot besides the gubernatorial race,” Beaudry says. 

Beaudry says the satellite office program's success in 2020, and its expected continued success this year, mean that the clerk’s office is anticipating a similar initiative for future elections, including the 2024 presidential election. 

“As soon as 2020 wrapped up, we were all saying, 'Let's do this again,’” she says.

Ann Arbor City Clerk’s Office satellite location hours:

University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 S. State St.: Mondays-Thursdays, noon–6 p.m.; Fridays, noon–4 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 5, noon–4 p.m.; Monday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Duderstadt Center, 2281 Bonisteel Blvd.: Wednesdays and Thursdays beginning Oct. 12, noon–6 p.m.; Fridays, noon–4 p.m.

All city clerk offices are open until 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8.

See the city clerk’s election information page for a complete list of special hours, voting information, and more.

Sabine Bickford Brown is a freelance writer and editor based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She can be reached at sabinebickfordbrown@gmail.com.

Photos courtesy of Ann Arbor City Clerk's Office.