Hoping to inform voters on systems, Ottawa Co. officials hold public elections Q&A

As election systems have come under increasing scrutiny, these officials sought to lay out parts of the process based on questions from members of the public.

October 17, 2024 | Joshua Alburtus | WZZM 13

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Kim Coston came into Wednesday night’s event at the Spring Lake District Library with hope for what Ottawa County election officials may have had to say.

“I think this is really important for people to understand from a grassroots level,” Coston said.

“It was important because I feel like we all need to be educated and re-educated regularly on the way our local government works,” she said. “The voting system has come under a great deal of scrutiny, as she pointed out.”

It was an event where these officials – Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck and the county Elections Supervisor Katie Bard – went straight to the voters.

Coston and others asked questions on the system from those who know it best. …

“The reality is that we live in an environment where we have to be thinking about the safety and security of our process – both for our staff and our team, and for our larger community of election workers and our voters on election day”
-Justin Roebuck