Election Day: Polls are Closed, The Wait Begins

8 p.m.: Polls close.

3:30 p.m.: Did you vote today? Prove it! Check out our gallery of voters by clicking here. And notice all the big smiles. It seems as though voting makes one happy. Try it and see!

3 p.m: At seven of the eight polling places Patch stopped by, all but the Royal Oak Farmers Market had One Royal Oak volunteers passing out literature. One of the workers we talked to said the plan is to work the polls until 4 p.m. and then they begin going door-to-door to get out their targeted voters.

2 p.m.: At the Royal Oak Farmers Market, Precinct 9 Chair Shannon Crepeau described the turnout as steady with more than 250 votes cast by 2 p.m.

"We have about 2,500 voters in this precinct so we are already at about 10 percent turnout today, and Barton Towers (Co-op Senior Apartments) is in this precinct so we always have a high number of absentee ballots," she said.

1:40 p.m.: Mayor Pro-Tem David Poulton and wife Jennifer voted at Addams Elementary School this afternoon.

"We brought our three children with us. They have the day off from school today," Poulton said. 

Poulton, the only incumbent in the race for city commission, was first elected to serve in 2009. After casting the 264th vote in Precinct 16, he stopped to talk to Mayor Jim Ellison briefly. The mayor, who has been out working the polls, told the candidate the voters he's talked to today are saying good things about things about the mayor pro-tem.

The Poultons plan to wait for election results later tonight at the Oak City Grille in downtown Royal Oak.

10:45 a.m.: City Commission hopeful, Jeremy Mahrle, is voter #64 at Oakland Community College. 

Mahrle spent the morning working the polls at Royal Oak High School.

"We had a slow but steady stream of people," Mahrle said. "Most people seem to have made up their minds already for candidates or for Proposal A, but being out here seems to help. We have had a couple of people say they have changed their minds."

9:45 a.m.: Sharlan Douglas, candidate for City Commission, is voter #123 at Royal Oak Middle School.

"I don't have a good sense of the turnout today, but I have said all along that Royal Oak has great momentum and I think the voters agree we are on the right track," Douglas said. 

Douglas said she thinks part of "right track" is approving Proposal A - the human right ordinance.

"I hope that's what we'll be celebrating tonight after the polls close," she said.

Supporters of Prop A, along with the Douglas, Jeremy Mahrle and Jim Ellison campaigns, plan to get together at Fifth Avenue in downtown Royal Oak when the polls close.

9 a.m.: City Commission hopeful, Diane Hargan, is voter #53 at Churchill.

Hargan is working today and plans to catch up on chores later in the day.

"I have neglected everything in my world since April, After work, I am going to go home and clean my house," she said with a laugh.

Hargan has no plans for after the polls close at 8 p.m. 

"I might have a drink. That's about all," she said with a smile.

7:30 a.m.: Mayor Jim Ellison, who is seeking re-election, was the first of four people in line at the Boys & Girls Club of South Oakland County when the polls opened today at 7 a.m.

Ellison predicted today's turnout will be better than an average city and school general election. 

The difference this year may be Proposal A - the much talked about human rights ordinance (HRO), which has two political committees on opposite sides working to get out the vote. Signs for and against the measure were placed outside the polls and One Royal Oak, the group supporting the proposal, had a volunteer passing out literature.

"I think human rights ordinance is going to draw people to the polls, both for it and against it," Ellison said.

Last November, when state voters went to the polls to elect a president, 68 percent of registered Royal Oak voters participated, according to the City Clerk's Office.

"So far, we have issued 3,868 absentees, which is pretty standard for a city election. In 2011, the last city election, we issued 3,617 with a total voter turnout of 15 percent," said City Clerk Melanie Halas.  "I see this Election bringing out a turnout of approximately 25-30 percent."

In the 2009 city and school general election, 17 percent of registered voters cast ballots.

A dozen years ago, Royal Oak voters rejected a human rights ordinance in a 8,864-4,296 vote. In that May 2001 special election, 25 percent of voters showed up at the polls.

7 a.m.: The polls opened at 7 a.m. today on Election Day. Royal Patch will provide updates throughout the day, as well as results on the City Commission race and ballot issues after the polls close at 8 p.m.

• If you want the scoop on who from Royal Oak is running for office or what kind of ballot language you can expect, check out our Election Guide.
• If you'd like to view a sample ballot, click here.
• If you would like to read articles about the candidates or Proposal A, click here.