Michigan primary: Early voting, absentee ballots are up
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The number of Michiganders voting early ahead of the primary election is dramatically up this year.
Michigan’s primary election
Big picture view:
The primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 4.
Ways to vote
Dig deeper:
In Michigan, you can vote in an election in the following ways:
- Absentee ballot (must be requested ahead of time)
- Early in-person voting
- Vote in-person on Election Day
RELATED: Michigan primary election guide: Everything you need to know
Early voting up in Michigan
What they're saying:
The Secretary of State says early voting in Michigan is up dramatically this year.
Timeline:
Early voting starts the second Saturday prior to Election Day, which was Saturday, July 25 – and the state says a high number of voters turned up.
By the numbers:
First weekend in-person early voting turnout was up 78% over the 2024 primary, the state said.
And as of Tuesday, one week out from the election, more than 832,000 Michiganders have already voted. That’s a turnout rate of more than 11% of all active registered voters in the state.
Dig deeper:
More than 800,000 have voted with a mail (absentee) ballot, and more than 30,000 voted at an early voting site.
RELATED: Michigan early voting: Everything you need to know before Aug. 4 Primary
Absentee ballots in Michigan
By the numbers:
As of Tuesday morning, more than 1.9 million voters have requested a mail ballot for the Primary Election, with most also requesting to go on the permanent mail ballot list, and more than 801,000 voters had returned their completed ballot.
Compared to the same time in 2022, mail ballot requests have increased 58.8% and ballots returned are up nearly 36%.
Timeline:
Mail ballots must be received by clerks no later than 8 p.m. on election night, Aug. 4.
At this point, if you have an absentee ballot, the state recommends putting it in a local ballot drop box or hand-delivering it to your clerk’s office instead of mailing it in.
Early voting in Michigan
Timeline:
Early voting will continue through Sunday, Aug. 2, for at least eight hours every day.
Anyone can vote early, but be aware that your voting site is likely different from your polling place on Election Day.
Look up your early voting sites and times at mi.gov/earlyvoting.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from Michigan’s Department of State and previous FOX 2 reporting.