Before an eligible voter can register to vote, election officials verify three separate and distinct identifiers: identity, residency, and citizenship.

Identity: Registering to vote in person: You must verify your identity by showing a valid photo ID. If you don’t have a valid photo ID, you must sign an affidavit affirming, under penalty of perjury, that you are who you say you are.

Registering to vote online: You must verify your identity by providing a Michigan driver’s license number or Michigan state ID number and the last four digits of your Social Security number.

Registering to vote by mail or through a voter registration drive: You must verify your identity by providing your Michigan driver’s license number, Michigan state ID number, or Social Security number on the registration form. If you don’t provide any of these numbers, you must provide a different form of identification such as federally required ID (HAVA ID) before you will be allowed to vote.

Residency: After a city or township clerk reviews and processes a new voter registration application, they verify the person has affirmed that they are a resident of the city or township on the voter registration form. As an additional step, clerks mail them a voter information card. If this card is returned as undeliverable by the U.S. Postal Service, the clerk must send a notice to the voter by forwardable mail asking the voter to confirm their address with a prepaid return postcard.

Citizenship: While a birth certificate or valid US Passport are the most common forms of documents that prove citizenship, possession of a document that proves citizenship is not required to register to vote. Individuals must affirm under penalty of perjury that they are US citizens. The voter registration form requires individuals to do this multiple times, first by checking a box that says they are a U.S. citizen and second by signing an affirmation that says they are a U.S. citizen. It is a felony to lie on any registration forms or voting applications about one’s citizenship status.

For more detailed information on registering to vote, visit the register to vote page.

In Michigan, and in every state, only U.S. citizens are eligible to register to vote or cast a ballot in any state or federal election.

There is no evidence to support claims that large numbers of noncitizens have voted in past elections or are registering to vote in 2024. In fact, the name of everyone who registers or votes in an election is a public record – it would be very easy to see if noncitizens were registering or voting in large numbers.

Learn more: Only U.S. citizens can vote

Voters can only vote once in every election. A recent social media post has taken a data report that included formatting errors to incorrectly claim that individual voters were casting multiple ballots in this election. The data error has been identified and corrected.

The Qualified Voter File (QVF) maintains a record of each qualified and registered voter with an associated Voter ID that provides a unique identifier.

Whenever a voter moves, the associated address change is added as part of the history of the voter record with the same Voter ID in QVF. For voters who move frequently, such as college students, there may be a large number of address changes associated with a single record. Their voter registration will be active only at the last address at which they registered. The QVF does NOT allow for multiple ballots to be accepted for the same voter or Voter ID.

Recently, the Bureau of Elections identified a formatting error in a routine report that shows the list of voters who have cast a ballot either by absentee or early voting ballot. The formatting error in the data export process generated a line in the exported report for each formerly associated address of each individual voter listed, resulting in the same ballot for the same voter appearing on multiple lines of information all associated with one unique Voter ID.

Each of these voters only had one vote recorded for this election. This error in the data export process has been corrected and these erroneous extra lines no longer appear on the report.

Michigan’s Qualified Voter File (QVF) is a secure voter records database that sends and receives regular updates of a voter’s ballot activity. If a voter submits an absentee ballot or casts a ballot at an early voting site, that information is updated in the QVF and flagged for election workers to prevent double voting.

If a voter submits an absentee ballot and then votes at an early voting site, the absentee ballot will be rejected and does not count.

If a clerk receives multiple absentee ballot applications for a voter, only one absentee ballot is issued to that voter after the clerk has verified that the signature on the absentee ballot application matches the voter’s signature on file. Election workers also verify the signature on the ballot envelope when it is returned by the voter.

At the close of polls on election night, ballots are removed from the tabulator and placed into an approved ballot storage container, which is then sealed with an authorized State of Michigan seal and securely stored until the election is canvassed and security is released. After canvass and certification, ballots continue to be secured in accordance with the state’s prescribed retention schedule. State and federal elections require a 22 month ballot retention period.

State and federal law oversees the maintenance of Michigan’s Qualified Voter File. When election mail (like a voter information card or absentee ballot application) sent to a voter by a clerk is returned by the U.S. Postal Service as “undeliverable,” the clerk will send a notice of registration cancellation to the voter’s Michigan address. If the voter does not respond, they are marked inactive – they can still vote but if they do not vote or contact their clerk’s office within the next two federal election cycles, the voter’s registration is cancelled.

Michigan has done more in last five years to improve the accuracy of our voter rolls than in the previous two decades. Since 2019, the Bureau of Elections has cancelled more than 800,000 inactive voter registrations and identified more than 600,000 others slated for cancellation in 2025 and 2027 once the legally required two-federal election cycle period has passed.

The waiting period is required because sometimes the initial information suggesting that someone has moved does not mean they have actually changed their voting residency. For example, someone may have changed their address for one purpose (such as a temporary work assignment, school, or military service) but want to continue voting in Michigan as permitted under the law.

Learn more here: Voter registration cancellation procedures

Students can choose to register at either their campus address or their permanent home address, even if they’re an out of state student attending school in Michigan. Like every voter, students can only cast one ballot per election.

Michigan law allows all voters to register to vote and cast a ballot on the same day – including on Election Day. Any voter standing in line to vote at their city or township clerk's office by 8 p.m. on Election Night will be allowed to register and cast a ballot.

Learn more about student voting: Student voting

You can legally vote in Michigan as long as you are Michigan resident, a U.S. citizen, 18 years old on or before Election Day, and not currently serving a sentence in jail or prison. Citizens with past convictions, who are on parole, who are on probation or who are waiting to be sentenced either in or out of jail are all eligible to vote.

Starting in 2024, 16 and 17-year-old Michigan residents can preregister to vote under state law.

You can preregister online at Michigan.gov/Vote, at a Secretary of State branch office or by printing, completing, and mailing the following form to your local clerk’s office. You can also contact your local clerk to request a form be mailed to you.

If you preregister, you can participate in early in-person or absentee voting for an election, as long as you will be 18 on or before the date of that election.

Learn more about voter preregistration: Preregistration

Michigan voters passed Proposal 2 in 2022 to give every voter the right to cast a ballot early and in person at an early voting site before Election Day. Early voting is available for every statewide and federal election. Forty-seven states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands all offer in-person early voting to citizens.

Voters can find their assigned early voting site(s) up to 60 days before Election Day at Michigan.gov/Vote.

Learn more about voting at an early voting site: Early in-person voting

Michigan law allows same-day voter registration, meaning that eligible citizens can register and vote up to and on Election Day. Voters may register or update their voter registration in person at their city or township clerk’s office through 8 p.m. on Election Day. Citizens must bring proof of residency with them to their clerk’s office if attempting to register on Election Day.

You may receive an application for an absentee ballot in the mail from your clerk, a political party, a campaign, or a nonpartisan organization. Third party organizations are legally permitted to send voters applications for absentee ballots. If you receive one of these applications, you can either complete it and return it to your clerk’s office or recycle the application. Voters can always request an absentee ballot from their local clerk or at Michigan.gov/Vote.

Absentee ballots and ballot applications are rejected if they don’t have a signature that matches the signature on the voter’s file. Only one vote per voter will be counted.

2020 was the first statewide election year that all Michigan voters had the right to vote absentee for any reason– following a voter-approved constitutional amendment passed in 2018 – and the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure all voters knew they had the right to vote conveniently and safely by mail, Secretary Benson directed the Bureau of Elections to mail absentee ballot applications to every registered voter. Many Republican and Democratic secretaries of state across the country did the same and in subsequent lawsuits, multiple judges ruled that this was within Secretary Benson’s authority.

Michigan voters passed Proposal 2 in 2022, allowing registered voters to decide to be placed on a permanent absentee ballot list so their local clerk will automatically mail them an absentee ballot for every local, state, and federal election. 

If you receive election mail for someone who no longer lives at your address, you can help your clerk update the state’s voter rolls. Write “no longer at this address” on the mail and put it back in the mailbox. The U.S. Postal Service will then notify your clerk that the election mail has been returned as “undeliverable.” The clerk will send a notice of cancellation and move the voter to inactive status.

If you receive election mail for someone in your home who has died, you can write “deceased” on the mailing and put it back in the mailbox. If a family member has died, you can contact your clerk in writing to inform them of their death or send an obituary or death notice to the clerk who can use the information to cancel the voter’s registration.

Under Proposal 2 of 2022, the state is constitutionally required to provide at least one secure ballot drop box for every jurisdiction and one drop box for every 15,000 voters in a jurisdiction.

Using a Sharpie permanent marker to mark a ballot will not invalidate or cancel a ballot or vote.

If the marker does bleed through to the other side, ballots are designed so that the bleed through does not touch or come near a voting area on the other side of the ballot – it will not alter or cancel any vote on the opposite side.

The Sharpie is the recommended marking instrument by voting machine manufacturers and is preferable to an ink pen because it dries quickly and will not leave residue on the ballot scanner.

For the privacy and security of other voters and election workers, voters are not allowed to hold up their ballot for a selfie or a photo. Voters can take selfies outside of the area where people are voting and are encouraged to do so!

Local clerks are required to maintain the security of the drop boxes and only people authorized by the clerk are allowed to open drop boxes or handle their contents. Both absentee ballot applications and ballots may be returned to a ballot drop box, which must be available 24 hours a day in the 40 days before an election. Ballots must be accepted until 8 p.m. on Election Day.

State law prohibits electioneering within 100 feet of a polling place entrance. Candidates, people with campaign materials, and people electioneering must follow the 100-foot requirements. Candidates can only be inside that boundary when they are voting. These laws apply to in-person early voting sites as well as Election Day polling locations.

Every voter in Michigan has the right to cast their ballot free from intimidation and without being solicited for votes when they are within the 100-foot boundary. Violators may face criminal charges. 

In 2023, the Michigan Legislature passed a bill to lift the state’s ban on hiring transportation to give voters rides to the polls.

Polls are open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. for all elections. Voters who are in line at their polling place by 8 p.m. on Election Day have the right to cast their ballot. An election inspector will announce that it is 8 p.m. and will mark the last person in line that is eligible to vote.

Voters who cast a ballot at an early voting site will feed their completed ballot into the tabulator, however, clerks and election workers will not see a running total of votes cast for candidates. Clerks are not permitted to start calculating results until the polls close on Election Night.

Michigan passed a law in 2023 to allow clerks in the state’s large jurisdictions to begin processing absentee ballots the week before Election Day. All jurisdictions can begin processing ballots the day before Election Day.

Absentee ballot processing includes checking that the signature on the ballot envelope matches the signature on file with the voter’s registration, updating the QVF to show that the voter has cast a ballot, opening the ballot envelope, and running the ballot through the tabulator where the votes are stored. Clerks cannot calculate or report vote totals until the polls close on Election Night.

Machine counting of votes is required by law. Data shows that machine counting is more accurate, less expensive, and faster than hand-counting ballots.

All Michigan jurisdictions purchase and maintain optical scan machines that use paper ballots scanned through electronic tabulators. Paper ballots and printed vote tallies are kept and can be recounted and reviewed.

Voting machines cannot be connected to the internet while ballots are being tabulated. Only after the counting has finished and a paper record has been created will jurisdictions connect the machines to send electronic unofficial results to the county clerk. They also bring a hard copy of the paper tally to the county clerk to make sure all vote counts are accurate.

Bipartisan boards of canvassers at the county and state level are required by law to affirm the will of the people by certifying the results of elections. Our legislature has passed, and the Governor has signed, legislation making that law even stronger – up to and including civil or criminal charges for failure to act in accordance with their duties under the law.

Learn more: AG Nessel, Secretary Benson on Duty of Canvassers to Certify Election Results

Actual voter fraud in Michigan is extremely rare and isolated. The many security checks in our system prevent it, and when it does happen, the perpetrators are caught and prosecuted. If you see something you believe to be election fraud, a full description of the matter involving any suspected illegal activity should be reported to the following:

• Michigan Department of State Office of Investigative Services: SOS-OIS@Michigan.gov or 844-372-8356
• FBI: tips.fbi.gov or 800-CALL-FBI
• Michigan Attorney General’s Office: Michigan.gov/AG or 517-335-0800
• Michigan State Police: 855-642-4847 (1-855-MICH-TIP)