Detroit seniors dominate in local elections

For each voter under 30 who cast a ballot in the 2021 primary race, there were 10 voters over 60 years old. Turnout data provided by the Detroit Department of Elections shows residents over the age of 60 cast 62% of votes in the previous primary while representing only 28% of all registered voters.

Older Detroiters vastly outnumber other groups, giving seniors a disproportionate influence over the issues and locations candidates focus on.

In the last primary, 4,432 votes came from people under 30 compared to 43,895 votes from people over 60. Turnout was 4% for voters under 30 and 31% for voters over 60.

Voters over 50 want the next mayor to prioritize public safety and affordable housing, according to a May poll of likely Detroit voters conducted by EPIC-MRA for AARP Michigan. Another June poll by Glengariff Group found voters over 50 were more likely to cite crime as their top concern and were more likely to approve of Mayor Mike Duggan’s performance.

Detroit voters under 30 were most likely to say they want the next mayor to move in a different direction from Duggan. The June poll found 67% of voters under 30 want new direction from the next mayor compared to 37% of voters over 65. 

Young voters were less likely to say living conditions in the city improved in the last decade and were generally less optimistic in response to other survey questions about the state of city services, infrastructure, public safety and blight, and the availability of good jobs and housing. 

How have Detroit candidates balanced the priorities of young and old voters? 

Candidates have been visiting senior homes for months and have made direct appeals to older voters with senior-focused programs. Two seniors are running for mayor: Former Police Chief James Craig, 69, and businessman Joel Haashiim, 75. Council President Mary Sheffield is the only candidate under 40 years old. 

Sheffield, 38, has emphasized senior home repair grants as a key priority, recognizing the challenges older residents face in maintaining their homes. Craig said he would partner with Kroger, which has long declined to open a grocery store in Detroit, and Whole Foods to improve access to healthy produce for seniors.

Saunteel Jenkins, a former council member and nonprofit CEO, said she would relaunch a senior citizens department to help address quality-of-life issues. 

“I am visiting senior citizens across this city and the conditions that they are living in — we should be ashamed of, as a city,” Jenkins said.

Candidates also recognize a need to attract young people to Detroit and give recent graduates a reason to stay in the city. Candidates universally identify public transportation as a crucial amenity for young people while supporting paths to homeownership and better jobs. 

Sheffield said young Detroiters “want a destination of opportunity” and often leave Detroit for cities like Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. to seek better job prospects. 

Turnout is often low in mayoral primary elections. Clerk Janice Winfrey said mayoral primaries typically range between 12% and 17%, with few voters under 40 years old.

Election officials hoped that adoption of early voting would cause more people to participate, but Chief of Operations Daniel Baxter said that hasn’t happened. The improved access largely allowed people who were already going to vote to cast their ballots sooner, he said. 

“There was no real impact in terms of turnout,” Baxter said of early voting in the 2024 presidential race. 

This is Detroit’s first mayoral race where early voting is available. The city mailed 97,000 absentee ballots to residents who requested them before the Aug. 5 primary. Citizens can also cast a ballot in person at early voting sites starting July 26.

There were 71,072 votes cast in 2021, representing 14% of all registered voters. Turnout was also 14% in the prior 2017 primary, with 64,267 votes cast.

More people voted in 2013, a total of 96,789, when Duggan first ran for an open seat against more than a dozen other candidates. Turnout dipped in the next two races as he posted commanding victories. Political observers hope for improved turnout now that Duggan’s departure has set up a nine-way race to replace him. 

Voter participation is also split along gender lines. Women were more likely than men to vote in every age group reported by the Election Department.

Bishop Charles Ellis is working with religious organizations to encourage more voter participation. The Lift Every Voice and Vote campaign organized visits to Black churches with six mayoral candidates in June.

“My concern is always with turnout,” Ellis said. “We have a lot of excitement leading up to the election, a lot of people seemingly engaged in getting out the vote. At the end of the day, the percentages that come don’t represent the swell of excitement that we thought we had.”

Ellis said younger residents are passionate about political issues, so it “boggles my mind” to see so few of them voting. Ellis said he sees young people are willing to organize protests, but said they have a harder time following through on sustained efforts to build a political infrastructure that would help accomplish their goals.

“My younger generation at the church, I can motivate them to clean a park or feed some homeless people, but if I say we’re going to make this park clean on a biweekly basis, that’s a whole different ballgame,” Ellis said.

African American Leadership Institute President Al Williams organized several town halls to promote a better dialogue about the candidates voters will choose from. Williams said election law reforms passed in the last decade have made it easier for residents to get registered to vote, but younger voters who frequently move need to keep their address updated with the clerk. 

“Every day is an election day now,” Williams said.