Check your registration status: Many Michigan residents are registered to vote when receiving a state ID or driver’s license. Student voters should always check their registration status before voting.

Check your voter registration status

Register early and online: Students are strongly encouraged to register to vote early and online. For voter registration options and requirements, please visit Michigan.gov/VoterRegistration. To vote in the upcoming election, students can register to vote online up until 15 days before Election Day.

Learn more about how to register to vote

Learn more about preregistration for 16 and 17-year-olds

Register on Election Day: Within 14-days of an election, and on Election Day, student voters must register in person at their local clerk’s office and must present proof of residency.

Proof of residency is an official document that has a voter’s current name and address listed on it.

Examples include:

• A valid Michigan driver’s license or state ID
• Any document issued by a Michigan high school, college, or university, or other educational institution, including:
  • A webpage on your university student portal displaying your name and on-campus address (ex. Wolverine Access, StuInfo, Academica, CentralLink, GoWMU)
  • Financial aid documents
  • University registration forms
• A bank or credit card statement
• Utility bill (including gas, electric, internet, lease, or rental agreement).

Learn more about voter registration options

Learn more about proof of residency

Choosing or updating a voter registration address: Students must decide whether they want to register to vote at their student address or at their permanent hometown address. This impacts which jurisdiction they will vote in.

Student voters should make sure their voter registration address is up to date before voting. Student voters are permitted to change their address again or restore it to their permanent home address whenever they choose.

Updating a voter registration address also updates a voter’s driver’s license or state ID address.

Learn more about updating your voter registration address

Learn what’s on the ballot: Nonpartisan voter resources, such as Vote411.org, offer easy to understand explanations of what’s on the ballot. Student voters can also view a preview of their ballot at Michigan.gov/Vote.

Early voting: Student voters have the option to vote early and in person at an early voting site for all statewide and federal elections. Early voting is a great option for students who may be too busy to vote on Election Day.

Learn more about early voting

Absentee voting: An absentee ballot allows student voters to receive a ballot in the mail and complete it at their own pace. Absentee voting is a great option for students who prefer to keep their hometown address as their permanent address but aren’t able to travel to that address to vote in person.

Student voters can request an absentee ballot by applying online at Michigan.gov/Vote. Students registered at their campus address can also visit a local clerk’s office, or an on-campus satellite office, to request and/or submit an absentee ballot.

For more information, including deadlines and options for returning an absentee ballot, visit Michigan.gov/VotebyMail.

Learn more about absentee voting

Election Day voting: Students already registered to vote: Students registered to vote at their current Michigan address can visit Michigan.gov/Vote to look up their polling place. All registered student voters who are in line at their polling place at 8 p.m. will be allowed to cast a ballot.

Students NOT already registered to vote OR who have not updated their voter registration address: Unregistered student voters, and student voters who aren’t registered at their current address in Michigan, have until 8 p.m. on Election Day to visit their local clerk’s office to register to vote, and to request an absentee ballot.

Students must present proof of residency when registering and requesting an absentee ballot in person on Election Day. Student voters must be in line by 8 p.m. on Election Day at their local clerk’s office to register to vote and cast an absentee ballot.

Learn more about voting on Election Day

Michigan residents attending school in another state

Students who maintain a permanent home address in Michigan while attending school in another state have the option to vote in Michigan elections by voting with an absentee ballot. Students may also choose to register and vote at their out-of-state campus address, depending on that state's voting requirements. But they may only vote in one state during a single election.

To learn more about absentee voting, view the student voting options tab. For nonpartisan information about voting options and requirements in other states, visit Vote411.org.

Visit Vote411.org

Out-of-state students attending school in Michigan

Students who maintain a permanent home address in another state while attending a college or university in Michigan have the option to vote in Michigan elections by registering at their campus address.

To learn more about voter registration options in Michigan, view the student voter registration tab. To learn more about options for voting in Michigan, view the student voting options tab.

Students may choose to register and vote in their home state instead, depending on their home state’s voting requirements. But they may only vote in one state during a single election.

For nonpartisan information about voting options and requirements in other states, visit Vote411.org.

Michigan students studying abroad

Students attending a college or university in Michigan, and who have a permanent home address or campus address in Michigan, have the option to vote in Michigan elections while studying abroad in a foreign country. To learn more about voting while overseas, visit the Military and Overseas voting section.

Learn more about Military and overseas voting

Parental voter education and assistance: Research shows that young adults are more likely to vote if a parent educates them about the voting process, and even more likely if a parent is an active voter themselves. Serving as a good role model for your children is critical to developing healthy, lifelong voting habits.

A few points about parents and children when it comes to voting include:

• Young people aged 17.5 years may register to vote but must be 18 years old by Election Day to vote.
• A parent cannot register their child to vote. It is also illegal for a parent to forge their child's signature on registration or ballot applications, or to request/complete their child's ballot.
• Voters with disabilities may legally request assistance in completing election forms and ballots.
• A parent is allowed to return their child's completed ballot to the clerk's office when asked to do so by the child.
• Parents are free to discuss their political views with their children, except when they are within 100 feet of an early voting site or polling place, or inside an early voting site or polling place. Attempting to influence another person's vote, even if they are a family member, is considered electioneering and is against the law.
• It is unlawful to attempt to bribe, menace, or use other corrupt means to influence a voter or deter them from voting.

What parents should know about voter registration: Parents should be aware that if their child registers to vote at a different address, such as their campus address, it also updates their child’s address of record for their Michigan driver’s license or state ID.

Teens may register to vote when they are 17.5 years old in Michigan and do not need parental approval to do so. They must be 18 by Election Day in order to vote. Once a minor turns 18, the choice of where and how to vote is legally up to the voter. Residents aged 16 to 17.5 may preregister to vote, and will become automatically registered upon turning 17.5.

Learn more about preregistration

Clerks who register young adults are not required to contact a parent for permission to register a young voter in their jurisdiction. Students who are registered to vote at their campus address always have the option to revert to their hometown address after the election.

Research shows that classroom presentations are one of the most effective ways to educate students on voting and elections.

The following resources were produced by the Michigan Department of State’s Collegiate Student Advisory Task force in partnership with University of Michigan Law faculty:

• Classroom Student Voting Presentation slides
• Video recording of "Voting as a Michigan Student" presentation (9 minutes)
• Classroom presentation toolkit guide listing "dos and don'ts," a sample script for presenters, and a sample timeline.
• A sample outreach email for contacting instructors can be found on the Ask Every Student website.

Contact MDOS-StudentsVote@Michigan.gov with questions or for more information.