👻 Boo! Oops, sorry to scare you.

• As an apology, here, have this newsletter. 🤗

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny with a high of 67 and a low of 44.

Today’s newsletter is 911 words — a 3.5-minute read.

My absentee ballot just arrived in the mail. All three pages of it.

Zoom in: I've spent plenty of time covering the races for governor and U.S. Senate. But farther down my ballot, I found dozens of candidates for judgeships, school boards and university trustees I knew little or nothing about.

• And I cover politics for a living.

Why it matters: These down-ballot offices make decisions that affect our communities, even if their candidates don't get nearly as much attention.

The good news: With less than two weeks until Nov. 3, there's still time to do some homework — and plenty of free resources to help.

• That's the beauty of voting absentee: I can research my choices and fill out my ballot at my own pace.

Where to start: I spent some time exploring three voter guides that can help make sense of unfamiliar names.

• VOTE411: The League of Women Voters' guide lets you enter your address to see your races and compare candidate backgrounds, qualifications and survey answers. I found useful information about Ferndale school board and judicial candidates, although not everyone responded.
• Planet Detroit: Its statewide guide breaks down campaign contributions, legislative voting records and ballot proposals, with special attention to environmental issues.
• BridgeDetroit: An interactive guide to Detroit's crowded school board race includes candidate backgrounds, endorsements and links to interviews and videos.

☝️ A reminder: You don't have to vote in every contest. Leaving a race blank won't invalidate the rest of your ballot.

What's next: Return your absentee ballot to your local clerk or an official drop box. The state advises against mailing ballots this close to Election Day.

• Sign and date the return envelope. Your ballot must arrive by 8pm Nov. 3.
• Track your ballot: Check its status and sign up for notifications through the state. I've used the alerts myself and found them reassuring.

👀 Plus, tell us how you're feeling about the election:

• Click here to our website and scroll down to take our poll!

Nearly 790,000 Michiganders had already cast ballots in the midterms as of Tuesday, according to the University of Florida Election Lab's tracker.

• That's about 17.5% of all votes cast in Michigan during the 2022 midterms.

Why it matters: Early turnout is offering a first glimpse of voter engagement in the final weeks of the campaign with control of Congress at stake.

What's next: Michigan's nine-day early in-person voting period begins Saturday and runs through Nov. 1. Some communities offer additional days.

• Detroit's regular early-voting sites will be open 9am–5pm during that period.

Go deeper: Find your early-voting locations and hours through the Michigan Voter Information Center.

❣️ The third season of romantic comedy series "Nobody Wants This," starring Huntington Woods native Kristen Bell, is available today on Netflix. (Axios)

💸 Detroiters report increasing challenges like rising utility bills, property taxes and blight around them, according to a new U of M survey. (Outlier)

🐱 Our region's top pet names of the year were Lucy, Charlie and Luna for dogs and Kitty, Max and Willow for cats.

• Food-related names were also trending, like Chili and Reuben. (Fox 2)

🍺 The Detroit Fall Beer Festival returns Saturday with local beer samples, live music and live wrestling.

• 1-6pm Saturday. Tickets: $60 in advance, plus fees.

🍬 Take kids to the Detroit Historical Museum for a Halloween celebration called Treats in the Streets. Try a scavenger hunt, do crafts, dance and delve into some magic. Wear costumes.

• Free! Registration required. 2:30-4:30pm Sunday.

🕺 DJs: On Friday, check out Dolls Night at Paris Bar in Hamtramck.

• On Saturday: The fall edition of DFEST at TV Lounge in Detroit, Hamdi and Ahadadream at Lincoln Factory in Detroit or the Blade Rave at Diamondback Music Hall in Belleville.

🃏 Stop by the All Hallows Ink party at Behold Brows in Midtown 5-8pm Friday and leave with a new tattoo and knowledge about your future.

• Get tarot readings, buy $50 flash tattoos, do crafts and listen to a DJ.

🏃 Costumes encouraged for the Frightful 5K in Troy.

• 8:30am Sunday. Tickets: $45 in advance or $55 race day.

🎸 It's like the Strokes, but cheaper: See tribute band the Brokes at the Loving Touch in Ferndale.

• 7pm Friday. Tickets: $26.49.

🧟 The Halloween Stroll offers decor and festivities at Canterbury Village in Lake Orion, with dressed-up characters, music, photo ops, fall treats and more.

• 6-9pm Friday-Sunday. Tickets: $20 for ages 13 and up, $15 for kids 2-12.

Share these with a friend you miss

Metro Detroit homeowners sold 7.8% fewer homes in September than they did a year ago, recent Redfin data show.

Zoom out: It's quite a bit steeper than the national drop of 4.3%.

Between the lines: Buyers could be getting more leverage. Pending sales fell 13.5% from the previous year and the supply of homes that are for sale increased to three months, up two weeks from a year ago.

• That means it would take three months to sell all available homes at the current pace.

Our picks:

🎧 Joe is experimenting with Spotify's prompted playlist feature to explore specific genres, like Detroit house.

😬 Annalise is intrigued by the new Elizabeth Holmes movie, but unsure about sitting through two hours and 54 minutes of it.

Edited by Larry Graham.