LANSING, Mich. — Election Day is here and polls have opened, but Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says complete, unofficial results may not come in until Friday, Nov. 6.
Polling places opened at 7 a.m. and will remain open until 8 p.m. Anyone in line to vote at 8 p.m. will still be allowed to cast their ballot.
Eligible citizens not registered or not registered at their current address can visit their city or township clerk office until 8 p.m. to register and vote in one trip. Both polling place and clerk office locations can be found at Michigan.gov/Vote.
“Election Day is a celebration of our democracy, when citizens across our state and nation proudly make their voices heard in support of the candidates they want to represent them in our collective government,” said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. “The millions of voters who have already cast ballots, and the millions more who will do so today demonstrate that Michiganders trust our election system and know that it will deliver accurate results that reflect the will of the people.”
More than three million Michigan citizens have already cast absentee ballots, and two million more are expected to vote Tuesday, possibly surpassing Michigan’s total turnout record set in 2008 when just over 5 million Michiganders cast ballots.
►A breakdown by jurisdiction of absentee voting data is available here.
Voters who have requested but did not receive their absentee ballot must go to their polling place today to vote. They will be given a form to sign stating their ballot has been lost or destroyed so that their absentee ballot is voided, and they will be provided a ballot to vote at the polls.
Voters who received an absentee ballot and still have it must bring it to their city or township clerk’s office or ballot drop box by 8 p.m. Tuesday for it to be counted. They may also ask an immediate family member or member of their household to deliver it for them. Or, if they prefer to vote at their polling place, they should bring the absentee ballot with them to surrender to an election worker, so that they can be issued a ballot to vote on site.
Voters who have already submitted an absentee ballot are not able to spoil it on Election Day.
As Secretary Benson explained in remarks shared at a press conference Monday, the record-high number of absentee ballots, paired with a law passed by the state Legislature that provided only limited time to prepare absentee ballots before Election Day, means that it could take until Friday before complete results are available from all Michigan jurisdictions.
“Some results will come sooner, thanks to exceptional work by local election administrators statewide, the 30,000 election workers recruited by my administration, and the millions of dollars we allocated for additional vote tabulation machines,” said Benson. “Election workers will be efficient, diligent and meticulous to ensure every ballot is counted securely and accurately.”
Watch Secretary Benson discuss Election Day expectations here.
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