What is the deadline for absentee or mail-in ballots to be received in order to be counted?
In Michigan, jurisdictions with at least 5,000 people may begin processing absentee ballots 8 days before election day. Smaller jurisdictions may begin the Monday before election day. Counting begins at 7 a.m. on election day. (https://ballotpedia.org/When_states_can_begin_processing_and_counting_absentee/mail-in_ballots,_2024)
How do election officers ensure voter registration lists are up to date so that people who are not authorized to vote are not voting?
All eligible citizens are registered to vote when conducting many transactions with the Secretary of State. The process also helps maintain the voter registration list by checking to confirm eligibility of all registered voters when they renew their IDs and driver's licenses with the Secretary of State. Michigan is also part of the Electronic Voter Information Center (ERIC) that offers states key federal databases and the use of sophisticated and secure data-matching technology to safeguard the integrity of their voter files.
What kind of software/hardware is being used to count ballots? Will they be hand counted as well?
Michigan uses 100% hand marked paper ballots. Those ballots are tabulated with a variety of optical scanning machines, including Dominion, ES&S and Hart InterCivic (Source:
What security measures are in place to protect the secrecy of the ballot and prevent under/over counting?
Anyone with access to absentee ballot counting must sign an oath that information related to processing and tallying will not be communicated in any way before the polls close. All voting machines are next generation optical scan machines, which use paper ballots scanned through electronic tabulators. Paper ballots and printed vote tallies are retained and can be recounted and reviewed. Voting machines cannot be connected to the internet during ballot tabulation. Only after counting is finished and a paper record has been generated will some jurisdictions connect the machines to the internet to send unofficial results to the county clerk. Simultaneously, these jurisdictions will bring a hard copy of the paper tally to the county clerk to ensure all vote counts remain accurate. (Source: https://www.michigan.gov/sos/elections/security)
When will the results become official? How long does it take?
Because only limited pre-processing of absentee ballots is currently allowed in Michigan, when large numbers of voters vote absentee, completion of the counting process can take many hours, if not days, after the close of polls. Results will be official when they are certified. The local certification deadline in Michigan is November 19; the state certification deadline is November 25.
How do election officials certify the election results? What happens if they don’t certify the election results?
County boards of canvassers must meet no later than 9 a.m. on the Thursday after the election to count votes and complete the process no later than November 19, 2024. Within 24 hours clerks send a certified copy of the results to the secretary of state. The Board of State Canvassers is responsible for certifying statewide and federal races no later than 20 days after the election, November 25, 2024. Then the state board must immediately deliver a certification of determination to the secretary of state. The governor then issues a certificate of ascertainment for presidential elections by December 11, 2024.
According to the Michigan constitution, certification is mandatory. If a board of county canvassers does fail to certify the results of an election by the 14th day after the election, state law requires them to immediately deliver all records to the secretary of the Board of State Canvassers. The state board must then “meet immediately and make the necessary determinations and certify the results not later than the twentieth day after the election”: November 25, 2024.
All costs associated with the state canvass, including costs needed for transportation, lodging, meals, and all costs incurred by state agencies, must be borne by the county that failed to certify. And the entire county board, along with all other necessary county staff, must be present at all times while the state board completes the canvass. (Source: https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/michigan-election-certification-processes-and-guardrails)
How do election officials ensure that an absentee or mail ballot has come from a legitimate voter and not been tampered with? Absentee voting is a time-tested secure system in Michigan. Clerks check signatures on both absentee ballot requests and ballot envelopes against the signatures they have on file to verify the identity of every voter.