Smart Phone App Will Provide Detroit Voters With Access To Absentee Ballot

DETROIT (WWJ) - It's a new way to get an absentee ballot for the August primary in Detroit.

As WWJ's Sandra McNeill reports...it's as close as your smart phone - where it can be accessed through an app.

Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey made the announcement:

"We have introduced an app that will allow an individual to apply for an absentee ballot via their smart phone."

Winfree admits it's a project being organized by the Democratic Party:

"We want to be able to provide voters with information right at their fingertips ... this was done by the Democratic Party, it could have been done by the Green Party, Liberation, Republican Party - it doesn't matter," said Winfrey.

She says it just makes sense.

"We know we want to engage the least likely voter," said Winfrey, "for this election it is the 18-35 year-old and we know that the least likely voter has the cell phone attached to their hip."

Go to Vote for Detroit at the App store or you can apply at the Democratic Party's DetroitBallot.com.

"The very same process is followed for preparing a ballot for an absentee voter, a request is sent, the application is the same application that you can use with the state of Michigan, we verify the addresses and most importantly we have to verify that signature," said Winfrey about the process.

Keep in mind that the applications have to be in the Saturday before the primary elections on August 5, 2014 and the general election on November 4, 2014.

Two or three other clerks in Michigan will be unveiling the app next week. The idea is to have more people casting ballots