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Senate leader: Absentee ballot processing bill still alive

Shirkey says it wouldn't surprise him to see lawmakers change the law before November's election and evaluate it after.
Credit: AP
FILE - In this Monday, May 18, 2020 file photo, Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, speaks in downtown Grand Rapids, Mich. A bill that would allow Michigan clerks to start processing absentee ballots before Election Day is not dead, and the August primary legitimized concerns that officials won't be able to quickly handle a surge of mailed-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic, Shirkey says. It is sponsored by Republican Sen. Ruth Johnson, a former secretary of state. (Cory Morse/The Grand Rapids Press via AP, File)

LANSING, Mich. — A legislative leader says a bill that would let Michigan clerks start processing absentee ballots the day before Election Day isn't dead. 

Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey told The Associated Press that the August primary proved the legitimacy of some concerns that officials won't be able to quickly handle a surge of mailed-in ballots during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The legislation has been on hold in the Senate since May. Shirkey says it wouldn't surprise him to see lawmakers change the law before November's election and evaluate it after.

He says the Senate is seriously considering the bill. 

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