Eligibility

Absentee voter ballots are available for all elections. They provide voters with a convenient method for casting a ballot when they are unable to attend the polls on election day.

A registered voter may obtain an absentee voter ballot for an upcoming election if he or she:

• is 60 years of age or older
• is unable to vote without assistance at the polls
• expects to be absent from his or her city or township of residence for the entire time the polls are open
• is in jail awaiting arraignment or trial
• has been appointed to work as an election inspector in a precinct outside of his or her precinct of residence
• is unable to attend the polls due to his or her religious beliefs.

A person who registers to vote by mail must vote in person in the first election in which he or she participates. The restriction does not apply to overseas voters, voters who are handicapped or voters who are 60 years of age or older. (Voting in person on one governmental level clears the restriction on the other levels. For example, if a voter subject to the restriction votes in person at a school election, the voter would be free to obtain an absentee ballot for the first state election in which he or she wishes to participate.)

Requesting an Absentee Voter Ballot

Your request for an absentee voter ballot must be in writing and can be submitted to your city or township clerk. (For assistance in obtaining the address of your city or township clerk, see www.Michigan.gov/vote) Your request must include one of the six statutory reasons stated above and your signature. You may request an absentee voter ballot with a letter or post card, or you can obtain a pre-printed application form at your local clerk's office.

There are no restrictions on the distribution of blank absentee voter ballot application forms. An organization is permitted to design and produce its own absentee voter ballot application form if it wishes; such forms must include all of the statutorily required elements.

A city or township clerk may mass mail blank absentee voter ballot applications to eligible absentee voters in advance of elections at his or her discretion; such mailings are not required by law. Mail lists used by clerks to distribute blank absentee voter ballots application forms must be equitably compiled.

Absentee voter ballot requests may be submitted anytime after the 75th day preceding the election. As an exception, a voter who applies for an absentee voter ballot for a primary may, at the same time, request an absentee voter ballot for the following general election if he or she is eligible to receive an absentee voter ballot for both elections. If the ballot must be issued by mail, the application for the ballot must reach the clerk no later than 2:00 p.m. on the Saturday prior to the election. Absentee voter ballots can be picked up by the voter in person anytime up to 4:00 p.m. on the day prior to the election. A voter who visits his or her clerk's office on the day prior to the election to obtain an absentee voter ballot must vote the ballot in the clerk's office; the voter is not permitted to leave the clerk's office with the ballot. (The law also provides for the issuance of "emergency" absentee voter ballots on the day of the election. The emergency absentee voting process is explained below.)

Submission of Signed Absentee Voter Ballot Ballot Requests

The persons who may be in lawful possession of a signed absentee voter ballot request are limited to:

• the applicant
• a member of the applicant's immediate family
• a person residing in the applicant's household
• a person whose job normally includes the handling of mail (but only during the course of his or her employment)
• a registered elector asked to handle the application by the applicant
• an authorized election official. A registered elector who returns an absentee ballot application at the request of the applicant must sign a certificate printed on the application form for such persons.

The clerk or other authorized personnel appointed by the clerk must be available in the clerk's office on the Saturday preceding the election until 2:00 p.m. -- the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot which must be mailed.

Issuance of Absentee Ballots

A clerk who receives an absentee voter ballot request must process it immediately. (The Department recommends that the requested ballot be issued within 24 hours.)

The signature on the ballot application is checked against the signature on the applicant's voter registration record before the absentee ballot is issued to the applicant.

An absentee voter can receive an absentee voter ballot at his or her registration address, at any address outside of his or her jurisdiction of residence or at a hospital, nursing home or similar institution. If hand delivered, the absentee voter ballot must be delivered by the clerk or an authorized assistant appointed by the clerk.

Campaign brochures or any other type of unauthorized materials may not be distributed with absentee ballots.

Return of Absentee Ballots

Absentee ballots must be returned to the clerk by 8:00 p.m. on election day. The clerk must make arrangements with the post office to pick up any absentee voter ballots received after the last delivery is made.

The persons who may return an absentee ballot are limited to:

• the voter 
• a member of the voter's immediate family who has been asked to return the ballot
• a person residing in the voter's household who has been asked to return the ballot
• a person whose job normally includes the handling of mail (but only during the course of his or her employment)
• an authorized election official

With these restrictions, an absentee voter is not permitted to ask another voter to return his or her absentee ballot.

An election official is required to pick up a voter's absentee ballot if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

• the election official issued the ballot to the voter
• the voter is unable to return the ballot under any of the authorized delivery methods
• the voter calls to request the pick up of his or her ballot before 5:00 p.m. on the Friday immediately preceding the election
• it is not necessary for the election official to travel outside of the jurisdiction to obtain the ballot.

Under any other circumstances, an election official (or authorized assistant) may pick up a voter's absentee ballot at the election official's discretion if:

• the election official issued the ballot to the voter
• the voter is unable to return the ballot under any of the authorized delivery methods. Election assistants authorized to pick up absentee ballots must carry appropriate credentials and show them when asked. A voter returning an absentee voter ballot must sign the return envelope supplied by the clerk.

An absentee voter ballot is not counted unless the voter's signature appears on the envelope and matches the signature appearing on the voter's registration record. If the voter received assistance voting the ballot, the individual who provided the assistance is also required to sign the return envelope.

Emergency Absentee Ballot Requests

An elector may make an "emergency" request for an absentee ballot if he or she cannot attend the polls because of:

• personal disablement
• a family death or illness which will require that the elector leave the community for the entire time the polls are open on election day.

"Emergency" requests for absentee ballots must be made after the deadline for making "regular" requests for absentee ballots (2:00 p.m. on the Saturday before the election) and before 4:00 p.m. on election day. The emergency must have occurred at a time which made it impossible for the voter to apply for an absentee ballot by the statutory deadline for "regular" applications. If an "emergency" absentee ballot is requested, the person making the application may authorize the person delivering the application to pick up and deliver the ballot. The authorization to pick up and deliver the ballot must be in writing and must be signed by the applicant. An "emergency" absentee ballot may also be delivered by hand to the applicant by a person authorized to handle this task.

Penalties

Michigan election law specifies that:

• a person who forges a signature on an absentee ballot application is guilty of a felony
• an individual "who is not authorized in this act and who both distributes absentee ballot applications to absent voters and returns those absentee ballot applications to a clerk or assistant of the clerk is guilty of a misdemeanor"
• a person, other than an authorized election official, who gives, lends or promises any valuable consideration to or for a person to induce that person to both distribute absentee ballot applications and receive signed absentee voter ballot applications from voters for delivery to the clerk is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Michigan election law further specifies that:

• a person in illegal possession of an absentee ballot (voted or unvoted) is guilty of a felony
• an unauthorized person who returns, solicits to return or agrees to return an absentee ballot is guilty of a felony 
• a person who assists an absentee voter who falsifies the statement which must be signed by such assistants is guilty of a felony
• a person who plans or organizes a meeting at which absentee ballots are to be voted is guilty of a felony.