Voting in Michigan: What you need to know
From registering to vote to voting absentee, this video will take you through everything you need to know about voting in Michigan.
Pavithra Rajesh, Detroit Free Press
Preliminary data for the Aug. 6 primary from the Secretary of State’s office shows once again that absentee voting remains a popular choice in Michigan amid the expansion of voting options.
A Michigan ballot measure to establish early voting in state passed with about 60% support in 2022. Under the new system, Michigan communities must provide at least nine days of early voting ahead of statewide and federal elections but can choose to offer more time to cast a ballot before Election Day.
Across Michigan’s early voting period for the August primary, 73,531 voters cast a ballot at an early voting site, according to the Secretary of State’s office. With voters planning to head to the polls Tuesday and return absentee ballots, it’s unclear what share of the total ballots cast in the August primary will come from those early voters.
The total early votes cast for this upcoming primary number fewer than the 78,093 early votes cast in the February presidential primary when about 4% of Michigan voters cast a ballot in person at an early voting site, according to data from the Secretary of State’s office.
Many Michigan voters still opt to fill out their absentee ballot at home. According to data the Secretary of State’s office shared the day before the election, 970,041 Michigan voters have returned their absentee ballot for the Aug. 6 primary.
While some communities across the state tested out an early voting process last year, this year’s presidential primary election in February was the first statewide election that gave voters the option to cast a ballot in person before Election Day. It marked another significant expansion of voting options in the state after the 2020 election cycle gave every voter the right to cast an absentee ballot.
Michigan Voter Guide: Key Races
The vast majority of states offer early in-person voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. While some Michigan voters have filled out an absentee ballot in person at a clerk’s office and returned it to election workers to be counted later, the early voting process allows voters to feed their ballot through the tabulator.
Under Michigan’s election law, Michigan’s early voting ended the Sunday before Election Day this year but may be offered on the Monday before Election Day starting in 2026.
Contact Clara Hendrickson at [email protected] or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.
Looking for more on Michigan’s elections this year? Check out our voter guide, subscribe to our elections newsletter and always feel free to share your thoughts in a letter to the editor.
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Publish date : 2024-08-06 00:03:00
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