LANSING, Mich — Michigan’s top election official is urging people with an absentee ballot to return it to their local clerk’s office or drop box instead of using the mail to ensure it’s counted in the Aug. 4 primary.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson gave the guidance Tuesday, a week before the election.
A ballot must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Night to be counted. Voters can only return their ballot to the drop box in their city or township.
While Benson encourages voters to return absentee ballots in person, she said in a press conference Wednesday that Michigan’s election system is safe, secure and prepared to handle elections, no matter how they are done.
“These are truly unprecedented times, yet our clerks, the Bureau of Elections and my administration have all worked tirelessly to ensure voting rights are protected,” Benson said. “No matter how you choose to vote next week and in November, know that our elections are secure, you will be safe, and your ballot will be counted.”
Michigan voters approved of numerous election reforms in 2018, and Benson said these reforms have been fully implemented. She said these reforms will make it easier to vote and harder to cheat in Michigan.
Below is a list of reforms made by Benson's administration, as listed in a press release from the state:
- Implementing automatic voter registration and online voter registration
- Ensuring all voters were informed of their new right to vote from home and provided an absent voter application
- Launching an online absent voter ballot application
- Expanding options for voters with disabilities to cast absent-voter ballots at home and in clerk offices
- Joining the Electronic Registration Information Center to improve the integrity of the state voter registration list
- Hiring the state’s first election security expert
- Ensuring safe in-person voting by providing all election jurisdictions with personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies and protocols for hygiene and social distancing
- Redesigning ballot envelopes to USPS specifications and providing ballot drop boxes, and additional supplies to election jurisdictions
- Recruiting more than 5,000 election workers through the Democracy MVP campaign
This election season, nearly 2 million absentee ballots have been issued, 3.6 times the 546,000 that were issued in 2016.
13 ON YOUR SIDE contributed to this story.
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