No. Electronic delivery of ballots and electronic return of voted ballots is optional to MOVE voters. Military and overseas voters who prefer to use traditional mail may continue to select mail as their ballot delivery preference. Additionally, eligible members may elect to receive a ballot electronically but still print their ballot and mail it back to their clerk instead of electronically returning their ballot.
Yes, U.S. citizens who have never lived in the U.S. may register to vote in Michigan if they:
While Michigan voters serving overseas or living abroad can elect to receive their absentee ballot electronically by email, online, or by fax, only eligible military members—defined as members of a uniformed service on active duty or members of the merchant marine—can return their ballots electronically. For other voters, all completed absentee ballots must be returned by mail under current Michigan law. Guidance on mailing a completed absentee ballot from an overseas address is available at fvap.gov.
Michiganders who are overseas can register to vote by downloading and completing a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) or by registering online at Michigan.gov/Vote. After returning this postcard to their local clerk by email, fax, or mail, they will be registered to vote and will receive an absentee ballot by email, fax, or mail.
Contact information for all local Michigan clerks can be found at:
Except for eligible military members, state law requires registered Michigan voters abroad to return their absentee ballots by mail. So long as their ballots are valid, have a matching signature, are postmarked no later than Election Day, and are received within 6 days after Election Day, they will be tabulated. The Michigan Department of State advises Michigan voters overseas to request and return their absentee ballot as early as possible. Eligible military members may return their ballots electronically or by mail. To securely track an absentee ballot and ensure it is received, voters should visit:
Any registered Michigan voter serving or living abroad who has registered and requested to vote by absentee ballot any time after November of the previous year, will be mailed an absentee ballot for all of the current year’s elections. Those who have not yet requested an absentee ballot may do so by downloading and completing a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) from the Federal Voting Assistance Program website and return it to their local clerk’s office via email, mail, or fax.
Overseas voters can verify their Michigan voter registration information and confirm whether they are registered to receive an absentee ballot by visiting Michigan.gov/Vote. Once there, voters can track the status of their absentee ballot application and the mailing of their absentee ballot, as well as view contact information for their local clerk’s office in the event follow-up is required.
Registered Michigan voters serving or living abroad can request an absentee ballot be sent to them by email, fax, or postal mail by downloading and completing a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) from the Federal Voting Assistance Program website, fvap.gov, or by completing the Michigan Absent Voter Ballot Application. Eligible military members who wish to electronically return their ballot must include their Department of Defense Common Access Card (CAC) signature on their application. There is a place for attaching the signature on the Michigan Absent Voter Ballot Application, and the CAC signature can be attached in section 6 on the FPCA. Once completed, voters should mail, fax, or scan and email their application to their local clerk’s office.
To avoid possible postal delays, the Michigan Department of State advises that Michigan voters overseas return their FPCA application to their local clerk’s office by email or fax, rather than by mail, in order to receive their absentee ballot in time.
Explore military and overseas voting
Registered voters in Michigan using a Michigan Absent Voter Ballot Application have the option to join the permanent absentee ballot list and will receive an absentee ballot in every election going forward. However, MOVE voters must complete a FCPA every year to ensure that they are sent a ballot early enough to allow for overseas mail Application that are received after the November election will apply to all of the next year's elections.
Once an absentee ballot application has been submitted, voters can securely track the status of their absentee ballot application and mailing of their absentee ballot online at Michigan.gov/Vote. Please note, absentee ballot applications must be received no later than 2 p.m. on the Saturday before Election Day in order to vote on Election Day.
Military and overseas voters request electronic delivery on their absent voter ballot application by providing their email address, and if applying using the FPCA, indicating a preference to receive a link to the ballot portal by email.
Eligible members who are authorized to return their voted ballots electronically must request electronic delivery on their absent voter ballot application, and must use the paper Michigan Absent Voter Ballot Application or the Federal Post Card Application because eligible members must also include their Common Access Card (CAC) signature on the application to qualify for electronic return. (The online absent voter application does not allow inclusion of the Common Access Card signature).
Military and overseas voters will log in to the portal using a username and password. Where possible, voters will use their MiLogin for Citizen account to validate their identity and gain access to the portal. The email address used to sign in to the portal through MiLogin must be the same email provided on the absent voter ballot application. Access to the portal will not be granted if the MiLogin email does not match the absent voter ballot application email.
If your MiLogin email address is different than the address you provided on your FPCA or absent voter ballot application, and you would like your ballot delivered to your MiLogin email address, contact your local clerk by email (a verbal request alone will not be accepted) to update your ballot delivery email address.
If your MiLogin email address is different than the address you provided on your absent voter ballot application, and you would like your ballot delivered to the email address you provided on your absent voter ballot application, contact the BOE help desk to update your MiLogin email address. The BOE help desk is available at 800-292-5973 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. If you are unable to call during that time and need immediate assistance, please call 800-968-2644 and press number 1 to indicate you are a member of the public, then follow prompt number 5 for MiLogin support. Alternatively, you may email Elections@Michigan.gov, with the subject line “MOVE Assistance Needed.” Within the body of the email, describe your issue, the best way to reach you (phone or email), and the best time to reach you, including the time zone.
Voters in regions where MiLogin cannot be accessed will receive an email with personalized access instructions.
The portal utilizes state-of-the-art security technology and practice to guarantee that all ballots are private and correct. Each ballot is encrypted in private on the voter’s device before transmission and is transmitted back to the elections office using an encrypted connection. The cryptography used by the portal provides assurance that the selections made by the voter are received by the election official with integrity, and the encryption of the ballot before and during transit ensures that no one can see the ballot’s contents as it travels from the voter’s computer to the elections office.
Enhanced Voting, the vendor that the department works with to maintain the portal, conducts annual third-party penetration tests, routine internal security audits and scans, and has received both SOC 2 Type II and RABET-V verifications for the security of its products. Additionally, the portal supports CAC authentication for its users eligible for electronic return. This allows voters to easily log in using identity verification technology developed by the U.S. Department of Defense, one of the highest standards of digital identity to date.
Registered Michigan voters serving overseas and living abroad are subject to the same signature verification requirements as Michigan voters in the United States. A voter’s signature must match their recorded signature in the Qualified Voter File in order to be issued an absentee ballot.
Additionally, as is the case for all Michigan voters, only one ballot may be tabulated for a military or overseas voter. Michigan’s election system has a robust structure of checks and procedures to ensure no Michigan voter can cast a ballot twice. Michigan has implemented several measures to strengthen election security and integrity which have since consistently resulted in accurate and secure election results. More information about election security measures in Michigan is available on our website.
Military servicemembers, their families, and civilians overseas who are registered Michigan voters and are concerned they may not receive their absentee ballot in time may complete a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) and return it to their local clerk’s office by mail. The FWAB is available online at fvap.gov and serves as a backup ballot in case the regular absentee ballot does not reach the local clerk’s office in time. The FWAB will also serve as voter registration for Michiganders abroad who are eligible to register to vote and request an absentee ballot for future elections.
If both the FWAB emergency ballot and the requested absentee ballot are returned to the clerk in time, only the requested ballot will be tabulated.
Overseas voters can download a FWAB and view instructions on completing and returning the write-in absentee ballot by visiting the Federal Voting Assistance Program website. Write-in absentee ballots must be returned by mail to the voter’s local clerk.
Please note, all valid absentee ballots with a matching signature that are postmarked by Election Day and received within 6 days after Election Day will be tabulated.
MiLogin cannot be used in certain geographic areas. Only voters located in the following areas will access the portal using MiLogin: Canada; France; Germany; India; Ireland; Israel; Netherlands; Singapore; United Kingdom; and the United States. Additionally, voters who are located on a U.S. military base using a U.S. virtual private network (VPN) will be able to access MiLogin. Voters who are not using a U.S.-based VPN and are outside the listed geographic areas will access the portal using Voter Attribute, a different identity verification tool that does not require or allow the voter to create an account ahead of time.
All military and overseas voters who have selected to receive their ballot electronically will receive their ballot through the portal, and will have the option to either print a blank ballot to mark it by hand or mark their ballot in the portal and then print it, and will then mail their completed ballot back to their clerk.
All “eligible members” who have selected electronic delivery and return will similarly receive their ballot through the portal, will mark their ballot in the portal, and will have the additional option to return their ballot electronically using the portal. Eligible members will be required to use their Common Access Card signature to electronically return their voted ballot.
EDARP is a secure portal through which clerks can send ballots electronically to MOVE voters (also known as UOCAVA voters). All voters receiving their ballots through the portal can vote their ballot inside the portal. Military voters can return their ballots electronically through the portal. Other overseas voters will print their voted ballot and mail it back to their clerk.
There is no change to who can use electronic delivery. All military and overseas voters who submit a valid Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) or an absent voter ballot application and include an email address are eligible for electronic delivery. The difference is MOVE voters will now receive their ballot through EDARP instead of in their email.
Electronic return is available to “eligible members” only, defined as members of a uniformed service on active duty or members of the merchant marine. MCL 168.759a(17). Eligible members are required to verify their identity using a United States Department of Defense verified electronic signature, which is defined as “the certificate-based digital identification code issued to qualified personnel by the United States Department of Defense as part of the Common Access Card, or its successor.” MCL 168.18a; MCL 168.759a(17).
Public Act 197 of 2022 and Public Act 193 of 2023 require the Michigan Department of State to promulgate rules and establish policies and procedures for the electronic return of voted ballots by eligible military members. Beginning September 1, 2025, electronic return of voted ballots will be available to eligible military members through the Electronic Delivery and Return Portal (portal). Additionally, the portal will be used to transmit ballots to all military and overseas voters who request electronic ballot delivery. Military and overseas voters are defined by the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE) and the Uniformed and Overseas Civilians Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).
