Low turnout, big impact: What voters will decide across Cass, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties

This November, residents of Cass, Kalamazoo, and St. Joseph counties will head to the polls in local special elections. On the ballot are mayoral and city commission races, along with a variety of school and library millages, bond proposals, and other local initiatives. While there are no statewide measures this year, the decisions voters make locally will shape budgets, services, and leadership across southwest Michigan.

The election is already underway. Absentee ballots — available 40 days before every election — have been mailed, and local clerks are accepting requests and returns. Voters who wish to vote absentee have until 5 p.m. the Friday before Election Day to apply online or by mail; voters already registered at their current address can apply in person at their clerk’s office until 4 p.m. on the day before the election. Completed absentee ballots must be received by the clerk by 8 p.m. on November 4 to be counted. Michigan law now allows clerks to begin preprocessing absentee ballots up to eight days before Election Day, though no results can be released until polls close.

Despite the scope and impact of local offices and proposals, off-cycle elections typically draw limited participation. Cass County’s May and August contests, for instance, saw turnout of just 12 percent and 11 percent. Yet as Cass County Clerk Monica McMichael told Watershed Voice, these decisions matter.

“I don’t think people realize how much power township boards and local entities have. They enforce zoning, they approve building permits, they can levy taxes. It has a huge effect on individuals,” she said. 

In some Cass precincts, fewer than 500 voters participate in local elections, which means each ballot can easily determine outcomes.

For sample ballots, updates, and other information, visit the Cass County Clerk’s Election Information page, the Kalamazoo County Elections and Voting page, or St. Joseph County’s Current Election Information page. Watershed Voice will publish additional coverage and candidate questionnaires throughout October.

Here is your comprehensive guide for what will appear on ballots in Cass, Kalamazoo, and St. Joseph counties:

Cass County

• City of Dowagiac:
  • Mayor: Patrick M. Bakeman; Donald D. Lyons
  • Treasurer: No candidates filed
  • Ward 1 Councilmember: Tharan K. Suvarna
  • Ward 2 Councilmember: Laura Desilets
  • Ward 3 Councilmember: Breanna Bundy; Justin Doyle 
• Countywide:
  • Medical Care Facility millage renewal proposal (ballot measure)
• Village of Edwardsburg:
  • Charter revision (ballot measure)
• Dowagiac Union School District:
  • Sinking fund millage proposal (ballot measure)
• Brandywine Community Schools (Berrien & Cass):
  • Building and site sinking fund millage renewal proposal (ballot measure)
• Constantine Public Schools:
  • Operating millage proposal (ballot measure)
• Eau Claire Public Schools:
  • Bond proposal (ballot measure)

Full proposal language can be found here.

Kalamazoo County

• City of Kalamazoo:
  • Mayor: David Anderson; Robert E. Gray; Chris Glasser
  • City Commission (vote for not more than 3): Drew Duncan; Thomas Durlach; Keshia Dickason; Kizzy N. Bradford; Stephanie D. Hoffman; Jessica Thompson; Solomon J. Carpenter; Sara L. Schlack; Bernard Dervan III; Jacqueline Slaby 
• City of Portage:
  • Mayor: Patricia M. Randall; Nasim Ansari
  • City Council (vote for not more than 3): Mark McKeon; Victor Ledbetter; Terry R. Urban; Jihan Ain Young; Jason Mikkelborg; Jay Woodhams; Kathleen Olmsted (Charley Coss withdrew 7/25/25) 
• City of Parchment:
  • City Commission (vote for not more than 4): Tammy Cooper; Michael E. Conner; Elizabeth June Seeger; Kristen Capelli; Nina R. Mihalek; Robert D. Britigan III; Genevieve Gibson 
• Proposals:
  • Central County Transportation Authority millage renewal
  • Comstock Public Schools bond proposal
  • Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools bond proposal
  • Parchment School District bond proposal
  • Portage Public Schools bond proposal
  • Richland Community Library millage proposal 

Full candidate list and proposal language can be found here.

St. Joseph County

• Countywide:
  • Emergency telephone services renewal (0.9 mill for five years, to fund countywide 911 emergency dispatch)
• Bronson Community Schools:
  • General obligation unlimited tax bond proposal, not to exceed $29.91 million, for building and site purposes
• City of Three Rivers:
  • Mayor: Angel Johnston; Thomas J. Lowry
  • First District Commissioner: Pat Dane (unopposed)
  • Third District Commissioner: Anthony Stanfill (valid write-in)
  • Commissioner at-large: Torrey Brown (unopposed) 
• Constantine Public Schools:
  • Operating millage proposal (19.2441 mills for eight years, excluding principal residences and other exempt property)

Full candidate and proposal language can be found here.

Watershed Voice will publish follow-up explainers and voter resources throughout October, including candidate questionnaires from Three Rivers, Dowagiac, and Kalamazoo mayoral candidates as well as other key races in St. Joseph and Cass counties. We’ll link each questionnaire from this guide as they go live and update this page with any changes to ballots or candidate fields. If there’s a race you’d like us to prioritize, email maxwell@watershedvoice.com and we’ll work to include it in our coverage.

Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.