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Michigan

Registration Deadline

The registration deadline for the 11/5/24 General Election is 10/21/24 online and by mail and 11/5/24 in-person. Day of election voter registration is... Read More

Upcoming Election Dates & Registration Deadlines

Some elections in this list are local and do not apply for all Michigan voters. Please click the “View all” button below to view all election dates in your state.

Next Election: General
Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Registration Deadlines

Monday, October 21, 2024
By Mail (postmarked)
Monday, October 21, 2024
In Person
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
There are no additional election dates scheduled at this time.

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Michigan Voting Information

Absentee Ballot Process

Absentee voting is available starting 40 days before Election Day, and no excuse is required. All voters must apply for an absentee ballot unless they are on the permanent mail ballot list. We encourage voters to submit their applications as soon as possible. You can return your absentee ballot application through the mail, in person at your local elections office, or online. Voted ballots from most absentee voters must be received by 8:00 pm on Election Day in order to be counted. You can sign up to track your absentee ballot and application on your Department of State website. All cities and townships can begin counting absentee ballots the Monday before Election Day. Cities and townships with a population of 5,000 or more can begin counting ballots as early as 8 days before Election Day.

Options to apply for an absentee ballot:

  • Online - must be registered to vote in Michigan and have a valid Michigan driver’s license or state ID
  • By Mail -  submit a completed absentee ballot application to your local clerk. Once the ballot application has been processed, the absentee ballot will be mailed to you beginning 40 days before the election.
  • By checking in with the poll workers and inserting your ballot into a tabulator at your In-person at your early voting site (up until the Sunday before Election Day)
  • At your local clerk's office
  • By checking in with the poll workers and inserting your ballot into a tabulator at your assigned polling place on Election Day (not available in the City of Detroit!)

You can sign up for the Permanent Mail Ballot List by checking the box on your absentee ballot application that says, “automatically send me an absent voter ballot for each future election for which I’m eligible.”

Deadline: Online absentee applications may be submitted until 5 p.m. the Friday before Election Day. 

Options for returning an absentee ballot:

  • By mail (not recommended within 14 days of an election)
  • By dropbox in your city or township
  • At an early voting site (up until the Sunday before Election Day)
  • At a clerk's office 

Deadline: After receiving your absentee ballot, you have until 8pm on Election Day to complete and return the ballot, unless you are serving in the military or living overseas. Absentee ballots from military and overseas voters must be postmarked by Election Day and received by your local clerk within 6 days of the election.

Emergency Absentee Ballot:

If you have an emergency that prevents you from going to the polls you may request an emergency absentee ballot. Requests must be submitted after the deadline for regular absentee ballots has passed (5pm on the Friday before Election Day) but before 4pm on Election Day. The emergency must have occurred at a time in which it made it impossible to get to the polls.

Additional Information

Those who requested an absentee ballot but end up voting in person: Do not mail a ballot and vote in person. If a voter who has been issued an Absentee Voter Ballot decides to vote at the polls, they can bring their absentee ballot with them and insert it into the tabulator. The voter must check in with a poll worker before doing so. Please note: This option is not available in the City of Detroit. If the absentee ballot was lost or destroyed, the voter should go to their polling place, fill out the Application to Vote, and then vote a regular ballot.

Overseas citizens and U.S. military personnel can find information on how to register to vote and request an absentee ballot at the Federal Voting Assistance Program

Campaign Finance Information

For information on federal campaign contributions, please visit Open Secrets.

For information on state campaign contributions, please visit your state's resource.

Candidate and Ballot Measure Information

Information on local, state and federal candidates and ballot measures may be available here.

 

Drop Boxes

Every qualified voter in Michigan now has the right to at least one State-funded drop box for every municipality. In larger cities, voters now have the right to at least one drop box for every 15,000 registered voters. Drop boxes are distributed equitably throughout the municipality and are accessible 24 hours a day during the 40 days before an election until 8 pm on Election Day. 

Ballot drop box locations are now available at Michigan.gov/Vote. Choose “Where are my clerk’s offices?”

Early Voting

Early voting for the November 5, 2024 general election begins October 26th and ends November 3rd.

In-person early voting is now available for every statewide and federal election in Michigan. For most voters, the early voting experience will be similar to voting at a polling place on Election Day.

Early voting will occur at “early voting sites,” which may be in a different location than your Election Day polling place. Cities and townships must offer early voting in each statewide and federal election for at least 9 consecutive days, beginning on the second Saturday before the election through the Sunday before the election, for at least 8 hours per day. Early voting may be offered in additional elections, for additional days (up to 29 days total), and for additional hours.

Because the days, times, and locations of early voting sites will likely vary by community, voters are encouraged to visit their state's resource or contact their local clerk for the most up-to-date information.

Election Dates

Your next election date can be found here https://www.vote411.org/michigan

Contact your local Local Clerk & Recorder for more information.

Eligibility Requirements

To register to vote in Michigan, you must be:

  • A U.S. citizen
  • A resident of Michigan and a resident of the city or township where you are registering to vote for at least 30 days by Election Day
  • Be at least 17.5 years of age (and 18 by Election Day to vote)
    • At 16, individuals may pre-register to vote and will receive a voter ID card when they turn 17.5.
  • Not serving a sentence in jail or prison

Incarcerated Voters & Returning Citizens: 

In Michigan, you only lose your right to vote if you are currently incarcerated for a misdemeanor or felony conviction. If you lost your voting rights because of a conviction, you could register to vote immediately after release. Your voting rights are not restricted by pretrial detention, misdemeanors, probation, or parole. 

Voters without traditional residence: 

In Michigan, if you don’t have a permanent or fixed home, you can register to vote by providing the address of a street corner, park, shelter, or any other place you usually stay as your residence address. The mailing address can be a P.O. box, local shelter, advocacy organization, outreach center, or the home of someone who will accept mail for you. 

ID Needed for Voter Registration

If you hand-deliver your registration application, the staff person helping you will take your form and will ask for photo ID. If you have photo ID with you, you must show it. If you do not have photo ID, or do not have it with you when you register, you can sign an affidavit stating that you do not have photo identification.

If you are registering to vote for the first time in your state, and you mail in your application, you must provide a form of ID.

Another acceptable form of ID is the last four digits of the registrant’s social security number. See Michigan Voter Registration Form for additional information on the identification requirements and registration in general. Michigan Voter Registration Form 

The residential address you use for voter registration must be the same as the address on your driver's license. Submitting a change for a driver's license address will be applied to your voter registration and visa versa.

ID Needed for Voting

You do not need an ID to vote in Michigan. If you have a photo ID with you when you go to vote, you must show it. If you do not have a photo ID, or do not have one with you, you may sign an AFFIDAVIT OF VOTER NOT IN POSSESSION OF PICTURE IDENTIFICATION and vote a regular ballot that will be counted on Election Day.

Voters can call or text 844-338-8743 at any time to reach VoteRiders Voter ID Helpline

Official Results

Official results are never available on or before Election Day. Election officials are working around the clock to count an unprecedented number of ballots, and it’s essential that they take the time to make sure every vote is counted.

All cities and townships can begin counting absentee ballots on the Monday before Election Day, and cities and townships with a population of 5,000 or more can begin counting ballots as early as 8 days before Election Day. Provisional ballots begin being counted 6 days after the election.

Official election results will be uploaded on Michigan’s Secretary of State website as they become available. 

Official Results

Overseas and Military Voters

You are a Military or Overseas voter if you are in uniformed services, living overseas OR a spouse or dependent of a uniformed services voter. To get registered and vote, you can utilize Overseas Vote Foundation. In Michigan, absentee ballots from military and overseas voters can be counted if postmarked by Election Day and received within 6 days of the election.

If you have additional questions about elections and voting overseas you can use our state specific elections official directory or contact the Overseas Vote Foundation.

Poll Worker Information

You can make sure we have safe, fair, and efficient elections for all. Become a poll worker today!

Registered voters and Michigan residents who are 16 or 17 years of age may serve as poll workers.

To sign up, contact your local clerk’s office or fill out an application on the Department of State’s website.

Polling Place Hours

Polling places will be open from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm local time on Election Day.

Polling Place Locator

You can find your polling place by utilizing your state resource.

If you have further questions on your polling place location, please contact your city or township clerk.

Primary Election Process

Michigan is an “open primary” state. This means that you can vote for either party. This decision does not register you with that party, and it is a private decision.

If you have any questions about your state’s primary election, please contact your local election officials.

Provisional Voting

A voter may be asked to vote a provisional ballot if their name doesn't appear on the registration list. 

Important: Before completing the provisional balloting process, because your name does not appear on the registration list, you should consider going in person to your local clerk's office on Election Day to register to vote. After you register, you will be able to vote using a normal ballot that will be counted on Election Day.

If you’re at the correct polling place but your name does not appear on the registration list, you cannot produce a registration receipt, and you do not re-register on Election Day at your local clerk's office, you may vote a provisional ballot at your polling place. In order to get a provisional ballot, you must:

  • Complete an Application to Vote form
  • Complete an affidavit stating that you registered to vote on or before the close of registration for the election and
  • Respond to questions regarding your identity and residence.

You may ask election workers for help in filling out these forms.

If a voter can provide a photo ID with an address that renders them eligible to vote in that polling place, their provisional ballot will be counted on Election Day. If not, the ballot will be placed in a provisional ballot security envelope and returned to the clerk’s office. The voter has six days after Election Day to satisfy the residency and/or identification requirements at their clerk’s office in order for their ballot to be counted.

Provisions for Voters with Disabilities

Any action or physical barrier that prevents voters with disabilities from casting a ballot is unacceptable. To ensure that proper accessibility is maintained, federal and state laws require polling places to remove or make accommodations for any barriers that prevent voters with disabilities from voting.

Care should be taken to ensure that the polling place is accessible: doors should not be blocked, alternatives to stairs such as ramps or elevators should be available, and lighting and seating should be adequate. Furthermore, at least one voting station should be adapted to allow a person to vote while seated.

If you require assistance in casting a ballot, you may choose a person to help you provided that the person is not your employer, an agent of your employer, or an officer or agent of your union.

If you or someone you know requires special access to the polls, it is important to call the clerk's office ahead of time to make sure your voting site is free of obstructions. Precincts must also offer curbside voting if the polling location is not accessible to voters with physical disabilities. For more information, contact your local clerk. Hearing impaired residents with questions may contact the Department of State's Bureau of Elections by TTY at (517) 322-1477.

For more information, you can utilize the American Association of People With Disabilities (AAPD) resource.

Registration Deadline

The registration deadline for the 11/5/24 General Election is 10/21/24 online and by mail and 11/5/24 in-person. Day of election voter registration is available.

Registration is available at any time up through Election Day - register to vote today!

See below for details on how you can register to vote.

Prior to the 14th day before an election, you have many ways to register to vote:

  • Online at michigan.gov/voterregistration  (https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/registervoter) (if you have a valid Michigan driver’s license or state ID); 
  • At a Secretary of State branch office; 
  • At your city or township clerk’s office or your county clerk’s office; 
  • At any state agency that provides public assistance or services to people with disabilities; 
  • By mailing in a completed voter registration application postmarked no later than the fifteenth day before the election or,
  • Through a voter registration drive. 

Beginning on the 14th day before the election and through 8 p.m. on Election Day, you have one way to register to vote: visit your city or township clerk’s office. You must show proof of where you live. Documents must have your name and current address. You can show a digital copy of any document. Acceptable documents include:

  • Michigan driver’s license or State ID card
  • Current utility bill
  • Bank statement
  • Paycheck or government check
  • Other government document

Time Off To Vote

Time off to vote is subject to the employer, there is no requirement for employers to grant time off to vote for employees.

Verify Voter Registration

To verify your voter registration status

click here!

Voting Machines

The voting system used in Michigan is optical scan.

Optical Scan: With this system, the voter will receive a ballot to take to a private table or booth. Voters fill out paper ballots that get scanned into a computer. The paper ballot has the names of the various candidates and ballot measures printed on it. With a pen, the voter will fill in a little box or circle or fill in the space between two arrows. When the voter is finished filling out all the cards, they may bring the cards over to a ballot box, where poll workers will show them how to put the paper ballot into a computer

For voting locations using tabulators, this is typically how voting works. Once the voter has completed marking the ballot either with a pen from the voting booth or by a ballot marking device (Voter Assist Terminal-VAT), the voter puts the ballot into a secrecy sleeve with the ballot stub exposed and proceeds to the precinct tabulator. The voter should hand the precinct worker the application to vote. The precinct worker will check that the number on the ballot stub and Application to Vote match. The precinct worker will tear off the ballot stub and instruct the voter to feed the ballot into the tabulator.

You can learn more about voting systems by checking out the Elections Assistance Commission's (EAC) resource.

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