It’s Election Day!
As voters head to the polls for the 2024 presidential election, you might be wondering how ballots get counted, especially with the options for absentee and early voting in Michigan.
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Here’s what to know about how those ballots are counted:
How are early voting ballots counted in Michigan?
This is the first presidential election in which people could vote in-person early, and more than 1.2 million Michigan voters cast their ballots at early voting sites, according to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
The number and location of early voting sites made available to voters were based on accessibility to voters, the community’s population density and expected voter turnout.
Voters from multiple precincts, cities or townships could have been assigned to shared early voting locations if local clerks decided to run an early voting location together.
Early voting sites are required to be available for at least nine consecutive days before Election Day, but communities were able to provide up to 28 total days of early voting.
Ballots are inserted into a tabulator at early voting sites, similar to how they are submitted at polling locations on Election Day.
How are absentee ballots counted in Michigan?
Along with casting votes at early voting locations in Michigan, millions of Michigan residents also voted by mail.
Results from absentee ballots aren’t reported before polls close on Election Day, just like with early voting ballots, but counting them can take election workers longer. This is due to the steps required to process absentee ballots.
The time it takes certain states to count absentee ballots varies due to when they can start being processed, which can delay election results. In two key swing states, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, clerks cannot begin processing mail-in ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day.
Under a Michigan law passed in 2023, absentee ballots can start being processed eight days before the election in the state’s largest jurisdictions, which includes communities with a population of 5,000 residents or more. All jurisdictions in Michigan can begin processing absentee ballots the day before Election Day.
Everything to know for Election Day
If you didn‘t vote early and are heading to the polls today, here’s everything you need to know about finding your polling location, registering to vote, what to bring with you and more.
