Need To Know: Election Day 2011

Election day is here, and Bloomfield area residents will decide some races on the Avondale, Birmingham and Pontiac public school boards, as well as an operational millage for Birmingham schools. Bloomfield Hills residents will decide whether to call the Baldwin Public Library their own with a three-year millage proposal.

Polls open at 7 a.m. and will be staffed until closing at 8 p.m.

What you'll need

Every Michigan voter who votes at the polls must show picture identification or sign an affidavit attesting that he or she is not in possession of picture identification.  A ballot cannot be issued unless the voter displays picture identification or signs the affidavit.In the absence of either document, a voter may show any of the following forms of picture identification as long as they are current:

• Driver’s license or personal identification card issued by another state
• Federal or state government-issued photo identification
• U.S. passport
• Military identification card with photo
• Student identification with photo from a high school or an accredited institution of higher education
• Tribal identification with photo

Bloomfield Hills

Where to vote?

• Precinct 1: City Hall, 45 E. Long Lake Road
• Precinct 2: Congregational Church of Birmingham, 1000 Cranbrook Road

Voters in the first precinct will only have to decide the library millage.

Bloomfield Hills residents in the second precinct will decide the library millage, as well as two items related to the Birmingham Public Schools.

School Board candidates Christopher Conti, Robert Lawrence and John Connelly will vie for two seats on the panel. They also will decide an operating millage renewal of 7.980 mills.

Bloomfield Township

Where to vote?

Avondale School Board Candidates

• Scott Bittinger
• Ken Hedrick
• Rosaland Lewis
• Stephen Sucher

Pontiac School Board Candidates

• Susan Loveland
• Sherman Williams II

Birmingham Schools

Candidates for all positions met in one of three candidate forums hosted by the Oakland County's League of Women Voters this fall. To see what candidates had to say on everything from public safety to schools of choice, check out:

The ballot proposal would levy up to 7.98 mills to fund the district's general operating expenses, which means residents pay $7.98 per $1,000 in taxable value. The millage rate would be in effect for the next 10 years and will be levied on non-homestead, or commercial, properties.

For more on the millage:

Got an absentee ballot? It's still not too late to turn it in. Just make sure to deliver your ballot to you precinct by 8 p.m. tonight and your vote will count!

Stay tuned to Patch for continued election coverage throughout the day and for results after the polls close.

Birmingham Patch Editor Laura Houser contributed to this report.