May 2025

Monthly Newsletter

Upcoming Events:

5/6/2025 - Election Day

5/7/2025 - 5/16/2025 - Board of Canvassers

5/14/2025 - Community Impact Day

5/26/2025 - Memorial Day - Office Closed

6/2/2025 - 6/13/2025 - Post Election Audits

6/30/2025 - 7/11/2025 - L&A Testing

7/4/2025 - 4th of July - Office Closed

8/5/2025 - Election Day

8/6/2025 - 8/15/2025 - Board of Canvassers

9/2/2025 - 9/12/2025 - Post Election Audits

Clearinghouse Award Winner!

The Elections Division of the Ottawa County Clerk’s Office has been recognized for Excellence in Election Administration with a national Clearinghouse Award for Distinguished Voter Education and Communications Initiatives. One of 53 programs honored by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the award recognizes innovation, sustainability, and replicability in election administration during the 2024 presidential election. Also known as the “Clearies,” the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) presents the awards program annually to celebrate the hard work of election offices across the country. Now in its ninth year, this year’s Clearie Awards honored programs that took place during the 2024 presidential election year.

In partnership with the County Communications Department, the Elections Team launched the “Not a Podcast – Ballots & Banter.” In a series of short videos, County Clerk Justin Roebuck and Elections Supervisor Katie Bard addressed critical topics, such as voter registration, election security, how to obtain absentee ballots, and more. The goal was to use a casual podcast format to deliver clear and accessible voter information in advance of the 2024 Presidential Election.

“As election officials, it’s critical that we communicate information to voters in the many ways they receive their information,” said Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck. “I’m so proud of our innovative Elections Team and thankful for the partnership we have with our County Communications Department.  This national award is a well-deserved recognition of their collaboration to educate voters.”

The Clearies play an essential role in fulfilling the EAC’s mission to serve as a clearinghouse for election administration information under the Help America Vote Act. The EAC is an independent, bipartisan federal agency solely focused on election administration. Submissions were judged on innovation, sustainability, outreach, cost-effectiveness, replicability, and the generation of positive results.

Click here to see episodes of Ballots & Banter.

To learn more about the Clearies click here. 

Do You Need Your Birth Certificate?

Whether you are prepping for Kindergarten Round-Up or collecting documents in time for the REAL ID deadline on May 7th, securing birth certificates for yourself and your family is an important step! 

In State of Michigan, if you need a certified copy of a birth record, you can obtain these records from the County Clerk of the County in which an individual was born.

(Note: Grand Rapids Hospitals are in Kent County, and you’ll get those records there)

You can order a copy online from our website and we’ll mail it to you https://www.miottawa.org/VitalRecords/

OR you can stop into one of our offices and we will print it out for you while you wait, so you can take it with you that day!

$15 for the first copy, with each additional copy ordered at the same time an additional $6.

• Main Office – 12220 Fillmore St. West Olive, MI 49460 Mon-Fri; 8am - 5pm
• Grand Haven – 414 Washington Ave Grand Haven, MI 49417 Mon-Fri;         8am -1pm & 2pm - 5pm
• Holland – 12251 James St Holland, MI 49424 Mon-Fri; 8am - 11:30am & 12:30pm - 5pm
• Hudsonville – 3100 Port Sheldon Hudsonville, MI 49426 TUESDAY ONLY   8am - 12pm & 1pm - 5pm

Please call our Vital Records department with questions – 616-994-4531

Election Day

May 6, 2025

Ottawa County will hold Special Elections on Tuesday, May 6, 2025.  Polls will open at 7:00 am and close at 8:00 pm.

To receive election results text alerts - sign up here!

Many jurisdictions will have a proposal on the ballot, including residents in the following districts:

• Grand Haven Charter Township
• Port Sheldon Township
• Ottawa Area Intermediate School District
• Allendale Public Schools
• Fruitport Community Schools
• Grand Haven Area Public Schools
• School District of the City of Holland
• Sparta Area Schools
• Spring Lake Public Schools
• West Ottawa Public Schools
• Zeeland Public Schools

Ottawa County residents can find their polling location and view a complete list of candidates and proposals on our website: Elections - Ottawa County, Michigan (miottawa.org)

Bring Your Kid to Work Day 2025

It’s been a tradition in our office to celebrate Bring Your Kid to Work Day. This year we had sixteen eager ‘junior deputies’ who participated and job shadowed their parents.

During their visit our 'junior deputies' were able to learn about county governance, local elections, the role of the Sheriff's Office in maintaining public safety and how the Communications Department is keeping the residents of Ottawa County informed!  

We cannot thank the departments enough who participated in welcoming our ‘junior deputies’ and teaching them all about Ottawa County!

We want to hear from you!

The Clerk/Register’s office is dedicated to serve you, and it is our mission to ensure that you leave our office having had a good interaction no matter the outcome. If you had an interaction with our office recently, we'd love to get your feedback.  Your comments will help us improve our service and better tell our story. Please submit your feedback here.

Justin F. Roebuck

Clerk | Register of Deeds

414 Washington Ave. Room 320 | Grand Haven, Michigan 49417

12220 Fillmore St. | West Olive, Michigan 49460| 616-994-4537

jroebuck@miottawa.org | www.miottawa.org/ClerkROD

Find us on Facebook @OCClerkRegister and on Twitter @OttawaElections