By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


Livingston County voters and others across the state are being encouraged to sign up to vote absentee and return their ballots as early as possible.

With a record-breaking number of absentee ballots cast in the August primary, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Michigan voters made their desire to vote from home abundantly clear. She says it’s a safe, secure and convenient way to participate in democracy and they’ll continue doing all we can to ensure voters understand their rights and how to exercise them ahead of November. The application period to request an absent voter ballot for the November 3rd General Election opened last week.

Michigan Department of State Spokeswoman Tracy Wimmer told WHMI 75 days out before an election, the window opens for someone to apply for an absentee ballot for the upcoming election – assuming they’re not already on the permanent absentee voter list or the last time they applied would have been in August and they didn’t check a box indicating they also wanted their November ballot. She says it’s basically for anyone who wants to get an absentee ballot that is not already signed up to do so.

Wimmer says people can visit www.Michigan.gov/vote and apply online or print out an application and then mail it or return it in person to their clerk’s office. She says they can also just visit their local clerk’s office and file applications on site. For those who aren’t sure and can’t remember if they signed up, Wimmer says they can also visit www.Michigan.gov/vote to check the status of an application. If there’s nothing there, it means someone hasn’t applied. Otherwise, Wimmer says it will confirm they already applied for a November ballot.

Clerks will begin mailing out regular absentee voter ballots on September 24th. They will be available for early, in-person voting in clerks’ offices on that date as well. More information is included in the attached press release.