DETROIT -- Absentee ballots go out to voters next week, and they're in such demand they could decide the mayoral primary that a Wednesday poll suggests is becoming a three-man race.
Five weeks before the Feb. 24 primary, some 31,000 residents have requested to vote absentee, a pace that would surpass the 39,000 in 2005. But city and campaign officials predict overall turnout among the city's 633,000 registered voters at 11-15 percent, meaning absentee voters could cast half the ballots -- compared to one-third in 2005.
That's not lost on the 15 candidates, who are wooing the typically older residents like never before. The Rev. Nicholas Hood III on Wednesday visited his 50th senior center, while Dave Bing promises to create a Cabinet-level position to deal with their issues. Mayor Kenneth Cockrel Jr. began airing radio ads this week targeting absentee voters.
"Absentee voters in this primary are going to be crucial," said Dennis Denno of Denno Noor Research, an East Lansing firm.
Its 300-voter survey had Bing at 28 percent, Cockrel at 22 percent and Freman Hendrix at 13 percent. None of the rest had more than 4 percent, while 22 percent are undecided, according to the survey taken this week.