Community · Kalamazoo
A week at the Kalamazoo library on how voting works
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Kalamazoo Public Library’s Central Library opens a week of voter education today, less than a month before the Nov. 3 election, starting with help for people who need to register.
Representatives of the League of Women Voters of Kalamazoo Area will register voters and update registrations from 10 a.m. to noon and from 4 to 7 p.m., according to the city of Kalamazoo. The library, at 315 S. Rose St., is running the week with the Kalamazoo County Clerk’s Office, local clerks, the League and the City of Kalamazoo Clerk’s Office, the city said.
Each day has a theme. On Tuesday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., county clerk staff will have sample ballots. The city notes that election officials can read what is on a ballot but cannot explain or interpret it. On Wednesday, from 1 to 4 p.m., Oshtemo Charter Township Clerk Dusty Farmer will cover early voting, absentee voting and how to find polling places, clerk offices and drop boxes. On Thursday, from 6 to 8 p.m., the city clerk’s office will take questions on how elections are run. Friday, from 1 to 3 p.m., is about helping family and friends take part, from coordinating rides to sending reminders.
All week, the library says, boards on the first floor will explain “the accuracy and security of elections, how they work, who to contact with questions.” Some displays stay longer. The Michigan Secure Election “Journey of the Vote” poster display is on the main floor through Oct. 16, the city said. A voter resource table runs the same dates, with registration forms, absent voter ballot applications, early voting information, drop box locations, pocket guides, clerk contacts and information on becoming an election worker.
The next deadline is two weeks away. Michigan voters can register online, by mail or in person until 15 days before an election, according to the Secretary of State. For Nov. 3, that is Oct. 19. After that, and on Election Day, registration is in person only, at the local clerk’s office, with proof of residency.
The state lists four requirements to register: Michigan residency, U.S. citizenship, being at least 17½ and 18 by Election Day, and not serving a sentence in jail or prison. The Secretary of State says it keeps the rolls accurate in part through the Electronic Registration Information Center, a bipartisan group of states that share registration data, and by canceling registrations of voters who have died, using Social Security Administration records.
Library events are free, and a library card is not required, the library says. The city calls National Voter Education Week a nonpartisan campaign.
Sources:
City of Kalamazoo, “National Voter Education Week Activities Planned at KPL October 5-9,” Sept. 30, 2026, https://www.kalamazoocity.org/News-articles/National-Voter-Education-Week-Activities-Planned-at-Kalamazoo-Public-Library-October-5%E2%80%939
Kalamazoo Public Library, National Voter Education Week 2026, https://www.kpl.gov/event/national-voter-education-week-2026/
Ben Jones, NowKalamazoo, “10/5/26: Kalamazoo remembers Lori Moore,” Oct. 5, 2026, https://nowkalamazoo.org/newsletters/daily/10-5-26-kalamazoo-remembers-lori-moore/
Michigan Department of State, register to vote, https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections/voting/register-to-vote
Photo: LittleT889, “Kalamazoo Public Library,” July 2025, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, cropped and color-corrected, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kalamazoo_Public_Library.jpg
