Absentee voting is now officially underway in Michigan.
According to the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office, more than 1.8 million Michigan voters requested absentee ballots as of Thursday (Sept. 26), and about 1.6 million opted to join the permanent absentee ballot list.
First-time voter and Detroit resident Arikah Newman-Neal says she couldn’t pass up the convenience of voting absentee.
She picked up her ballot and turned it in on the same day.
“Why wait,” said Newman-Neal said. “It was no point in waiting for me.”
That’s the message Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey is encouraging.
She said once you get your absentee ballot, return it immediately.
Voters have the option of returning their ballot by mail or drop box.
“USPS may not guarantee their mail, but we can guarantee if you use one of our drop boxes, we can get that mail,” Winfrey said.
Michigan registered voters can request an absentee ballot for any reason.
To do so, voters must submit a request to their local clerk’s office.
“Just gives voters more opportunities to exercise their vote, so you are not just limited to voting on election day,” Pontiac City Clerk Garland Doyle said.
--> Bipartisan initiative safeguards integrity of absentee voting in Michigan
City and township clerks can start preparing absentee ballots to be counted eight days before the election. That will help speed up the results when polls close on election night.
“It is not just being ripped open and put into a tabulator,” Oakland County Clerk Lisa Brown said. “There are all steps to go through first. It takes time to do all that.”
Brown said anyone who questions the integrity of absentee voting should consider this.
“In our absentee voting counting boards, we have Democrats and Republicans sitting next to each other, working the process together,” Brown said.
Click here for more information about the absentee voting process and deadlines.