(AFP) – Wayne County in the US state of Michigan is a region steeped in history and influence, impacting everything from music and manufacturing to politics. Voter turnout in this county can be decisive in Michigan, a battleground state that President Joe Biden won by just 150,000 votes in 2020.
Here are five key facts to know:
– **Home of ‘Motor City’**
Wayne County is home to Detroit, famously known as “Motor City,” where Henry Ford revolutionized the automobile industry by implementing the moving assembly line at his Highland Park plant in 1913. The so-called “Big Three” automakers — General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler, now part of Stellantis — are still headquartered in the Detroit area.
– **Democratic stronghold**
Wayne County, the most populous in Michigan with approximately 1.8 million residents, plays a pivotal role in presidential elections, often tipping the scales in favor of the Democratic candidate. High voter turnout here can offset conservative votes in more rural and suburban parts of the state. In 2016, Hillary Clinton garnered 66 percent of the county’s vote, but lower turnout contributed to her narrow loss in the state to Donald Trump. In 2020, 68 percent of voters in Wayne County backed Joe Biden, helping him narrowly flip Michigan and secure the presidency.
– **Certification drama**
Biden’s overwhelming victory in Wayne County was temporarily stalled by a certification delay caused by two Republican members of the four-member board of canvassers who claimed discrepancies in certain precincts. The deadlock was broken within hours, after the Republican officials backed off following intense outcry and after receiving assurances that a comprehensive audit would be conducted.
– **MENA hub**
The 2020 census was the first to solicit responses from people of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) descent, although they had to select “white” and then write in their country of origin. Nearly 140,000 residents of Wayne County, or 7.8 percent of the population, identified as being from a MENA country — the highest percentage in the United States. Arab and Muslim American voters in the Detroit suburbs of Dearborn and Hamtramck expressed dissatisfaction with Biden’s stance on Gaza, with “uncommitted” candidates outperforming him in the state’s Democratic primary.
– **Motown**
Detroit boasts a rich musical legacy as the birthplace of Motown, a genre that blended soulful pop and R&B and played a key role in the civil rights movement by bringing Black music into the mainstream, dominating the airwaves in the 1960s. Legendary artists like The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye all rose to fame through Motown Records. More recently, Eminem brought global attention to Detroit’s hip-hop scene, while The White Stripes, led by Detroit natives Jack and Meg White, helped revive garage rock in the early 2000s.
– Issam AHMED
© 2024 AFP
