Michigan sees record-breaking early voting turnout with two weeks to go before the General Election

More than 1.1 million absentee ballots have been cast statewide

LANSING, Mich. – With two weeks until Michigan’s Nov. 5 General Election, more than 1.15 million Michigan voters – almost 16% of the state’s active registered voters – have already cast their ballot. A total of 5,100 Michiganders voted at an in-person early voting site, including a record-breaking 2,504 voters in Detroit the first weekend, and over 1.14 million Michigan voters have submitted an absentee ballot to be tabulated.   
 
The City of Detroit was the first jurisdiction in the state to start early voting for the General Election, kicking off on Saturday, Oct. 19. On that first day, 1,888 Detroit voters cast a ballot, an almost 10-fold increase from the 266 Detroit voters who voted on the first day of early voting for the Primary Election. The City of East Lansing and Canton Township began early voting on Monday, Oct. 21, with first-day turnout of 115 (East Lansing) and 981 (Canton Township) voters. Early voting will kick off statewide this Saturday, Oct. 26 for all voters. Learn more at Michigan.gov/EarlyVoting.  
 
As of today, a total of 2,268,186 Michigan citizens have requested an absentee ballot or received a ballot after joining the permanent absentee ballot list. So far, 1,147,041 voters have returned their completed absentee ballot to be counted – a 51% return rate. A jurisdiction breakdown is available online.

Current absentee ballot request and return rates along with early voting totals are now available at Michigan.gov/VotingDashboard. Data is updated daily on the dashboard.
 
Eligible residents who still need to register to vote in the General Election must now do so in person. Under Michigan law, online and mail registration is not permitted within 14 days of an election. Those registering in person may request, complete, and submit an absentee ballot in the same visit to their clerk’s office. Visit Michigan.gov/Vote for clerk office locations and hours.  
 
To avoid postal delays, voters with an absentee ballot should hand deliver the ballot in its signed and sealed envelope to their local clerk’s office or secure ballot drop box. Voters can also bring their absentee ballot to an early voting site before Election Day.
 
To cast a ballot in person, voters can go to an early voting site in their jurisdiction or to their polling place on Election Day, Nov. 5, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Early voting for the General Election begins for the rest of the jurisdictions in the state on Saturday, Oct. 26. and ends in all jurisdictions Sunday, Nov. 3. Visit Michigan.gov/EarlyVoting to find the days, hours, and locations where early voting sites are operating in your community.  
 
Visit Michigan.gov/Vote for more information about elections and voting in Michigan.  

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