What’s on the Ballot? Your Guide to GT County Election Proposals

Thursday marked the first day absentee ballots were available in Michigan for the November 3 election. With voting officially underway, The Ticker has your guide to key voting dates and the ballot proposals in Grand Traverse County. Stay tuned for more coverage coming soon on local and state races.

What to Know: Key Voting Dates
September 24: Thursday was the first day absentee ballots could be cast in person at a local city or township clerk’s office. You can request an absentee ballot online, by mail, or from your local clerk. Voters are recommended to return ballots no later than October 20 by mail. Starting October 21, it’s recommended to return ballots in person to your local clerk or secure drop box. If you’re serving in the military or living overseas, your ballot must be postmarked by Election Day and received by November 9 to count.

October 19: This is the last day to register online to vote. Starting October 20, residents must register in person at a local office with proof of residency. You can register in person up until 8pm on Election Day.

October 24: Early in-person voting starts statewide. All communities must offer early voting at a designated site starting this day. Find your voting location online here. November 1 is the last day of early in-person voting.

November 2 at 4pm: This is the deadline to vote in person with an absentee ballot. After this point, you must vote at your polling location on Election Day.

November 3: Polls will be open 7am to 8pm on Election Day.

Ballot Proposals in Grand Traverse County
There are two statewide proposals on all Michigan ballots. They include:

Proposal 1 (Statewide)
Traverse City voters, take note: You’ll see two Proposal 1 initiatives on your ballot.  The first is a statewide proposal about a constitutional convention. This question is required every 16 years. Voting yes would kickstart a process to rewrite Michigan’s constitution, with the new draft then required to go to voters for approval. Voting no would reject the “con-con” process, as it’s sometimes called, preserving Michigan’s constitution as it is today.

Multiple local organizations have come out in opposition to Proposal 1, including both Republican and Democratic groups. Traverse Connect, Michigan Realtors, the Michigan Townships Association, the Michigan Community College Association, and Voters Not Politicians will hold a joint press conference today (Friday) at 11am at Traverse Connect to urge voters to reject Proposal 1.

Proposal 2 (Statewide)
Known as the “Money Out of Politics” proposal, this initiative would ban electric and gas utilities, contractors who hold over $250,000 annually in government contracts, and groups with “substantial connections” to those two categories from making donations to candidates who run for or hold offices that impact them. It would also expand laws regulating spending on political communications.

The proposal has been supported by groups including Clean Water Action, Community Change Action, the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, and Voters Not Politicians, while groups including Consumers Energy and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan oppose it. A last-minute attempt to keep it off the ballot failed at the Michigan Supreme Court.

A third proposal that would have amended the state’s constitution to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote was rejected by the Michigan Supreme Court and will not appear on the 2026 ballot.

Millages/Surcharges
It’s the year of millage and surcharge requests, as the timing aligned this fall for multiple organizations to request renewals or increases along with a brand-new proposal:

> Bay Area Transportation Authority (BATA): Grand Traverse and Leelanau residents will vote to renew BATA’s 0.4589 mill to continue bus service operations for seven years, from January 2028 to December 2034. The millage will raise $6,041,755 in annual property tax revenue for BATA. According to BATA, if the millage isn’t renewed the authority will lose up to 45 percent of its total funding and would “need to reduce transportation services accordingly until a local millage is approved.”

> Grand Traverse Conservation District: This proposal will renew and reset a previously approved 0.1 mill for GTCD for a 10-year term beginning in 2026 and running through 2035. The millage will generate an estimated $871,492 in its first year when levied. The estimated cost to a household owning a $100,000 property would be $5 per year. According to GTCD, if the millage fails the organization will need to cut 40 percent of its full-time staff and 100 percent of staff benefits, with impacts on programs like the Boardman River Nature Center.

> GT 911/Dispatch: This surcharge would assess a charge of up to $3 per month against all landline, wireless, and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service users in Grand Traverse County for 10 years starting July 1, 2027 through June 30, 2037 to cover operational costs and equipment for GT 911/Dispatch. The proposal would increase the current charge by 50 cents, up from $2.50 to $3 per device per month.

> GT County Trails Millage: This is new millage would create a dedicated funding source for the non-motorized trail network across Grand Traverse County. The 0.3-mill levy would cover a six-year period from 2026 to 2031 and generate approximately $2.6 million annually, costing the owner of a $100,000 property about $15 per year. According to TART Trails, while numerous trails run throughout the county, “there are real gaps to fill and no dedicated budget to close them.” Funding can be used for trail construction, planning and engineering, capital replacement, property/right-of-way acquisition, maintenance, and program administration.

> Whitewater Township Ambulance: This millage, which will only be before Whitewater Township voters, is a renewal request for ambulance services at 1.3787 mills for four years from 2026 through 2029. The request would generate $473,621 in its first year.

Proposal 1 (City of Traverse City)
Though covered and debated countywide, the extension of downtown Traverse City’s tax increment financing (TIF) 97 plan – which would be renamed the Infrastructure First TIF Plan and run for 20 years through 2047, with a total estimated tax capture of just under $140 million – will be decided solely by city voters. According to the city, the plan is focused on public infrastructure projects like streets, sidewalks, trails, and utilities and provides a dedicated funding source for stormwater for the first time downtown.

Any city or county voter-approved special millage approved since January 1, 2023 would be exempt from the TIF capture. The proposal also includes a new 70-30 revenue split between the TC Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and other taxing jurisdictions such as GT County, NMC, and BATA. According to the DDA, if the proposal fails “Traverse City will lose $1.9 million in regional tax revenue and assume 100 percent of the obligation for downtown infrastructure improvements.”

Grand Traverse County has the full language for all ballot proposals here. Voters can also view sample ballots here.