Canton Township voters turned out at a 38.2% rate for the Tuesday, Aug. 4 primary election, with 27,832 of 72,864 registered voters casting ballots across 20 precincts, according to unofficial results posted on the township website Wednesday, Aug. 5.

Absentee ballots dominated the count.

Of the 27,832 votes, 16,585 came by mail, 8,887 were cast on Election Day and 2,360 came through early voting. As we reported Tuesday, Canton's early voting participation had surged 273% compared with prior cycles.

Canton homeowners will begin paying a new transit tax after the Wayne County SMART millage passed with roughly 67% support countywide. The 10-year measure brings fixed-route bus service to Canton for the first time, with Route 250 extending along Ford Road and new Route 345 running the Haggerty corridor. SMART plans to phase in service between 2027 and 2029.

Senate primary

Canton mirrored the statewide result in the Democratic U.S. Senate race. Abdul El-Sayed took 10,733 votes (53.82%) to Rep. Haley Stevens' 8,725 (43.75%) and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow's 478 (2.40%) out of 19,941 Democratic ballots cast locally. El-Sayed, who won the statewide primary after Stevens conceded Wednesday morning, will face Republican Mike Rogers in November for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters.

Speaking to supporters at his Detroit watch party Tuesday night, El-Sayed said: "Whatever happens tonight, we have a responsibility to ensure that we unite, unite to make sure that Mike Rogers never sees the inside of the U.S. Senate."

On the Republican side, Rogers ran essentially unopposed in Canton with 5,934 votes (99.92%).

Governor and down-ballot

Canton Democrats backed Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for governor with 15,795 votes (82.46%) over Christopher Robert Swanson's 3,261 (17.02%). Among Republicans, John James led with 3,290 votes (52.73%), followed by Perry Johnson at 2,004 (32.12%) and Mike Cox at 910 (14.59%).

In uncontested down-ballot races, Rep. Debbie Dingell drew 17,429 votes (98.89%) in the 6th Congressional District Democratic primary, state Sen. Matt Koleszar received 16,777 (99.00%) in the 5th Senate District and state Rep. Ranjeev Puri took 15,777 (98.98%) in the 24th House District.

Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans won Canton's Democratic vote with 14,423 ballots (85.54%).

What's next

The results remain unofficial. Wayne County will certify the Aug. 4 primary in the coming weeks; no specific certification date has been announced. The full unofficial results document is available at cantonmi.gov.