Michigan voters can begin receiving absentee ballots today for the Nov. 3 general election.
Under Michigan's constitution, absentee ballots must be available to voters 40 days before an election. Beginning Sept. 24, voters can obtain an absentee ballot through their local clerk's office or request one online.
Michigan Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie said voters have several options for obtaining and returning absentee ballots.
"You can either go to your clerk's office to pick up an absentee ballot, or you can request it either through your local clerk, or by going online to michigan.gov/vote and requesting your absentee ballot via the website," Edevbie said.
Edevbie said voters can return completed absentee ballots by mail, through an official drop box or directly to their local clerk.
"But you can certainly get that ballot mailed to you in the mail, and then return it right back to your local clerk either through the mail or via dropbox, or by just personally delivering it to your local clerk's office," he said.
The Sept. 24 date is established by the Michigan Constitution, which guarantees registered voters the right to cast an absentee ballot during the 40 days before an election.
"So that date is actually in the state's constitution, according to Proposal Three of 2018, which was passed with 67 of the vote," Edevbie said. "Absentee ballots must be made available to all voters in the state by day 40, 40 days out from the election, and that's September 24 of this year, and so ballots will be made available to every single voter who wants them in this state."
Michigan voters have increasingly cast ballots before Election Day. During the August primary, Edevbie said more than half of all ballots were submitted before Election Day.
"We had 1.38 million absentee ballots returned in the state of Michigan, and we had over 100,000 people vote early in person," Edevbie said. "So about 60% of the ballots cast during the primary came in before election day."
Election officials are also continuing to recruit poll workers ahead of November. Edevbie said Michigan residents age 16 and older are eligible to serve and are paid for their work.
"People do get paid. You just have to be at least 16, and a resident of Michigan to be a poll worker," he said. "If you can do that, we welcome you."
Residents interested in becoming poll workers can sign up through the state's Democracy MVP program at Michigan.gov/DemocracyMVP, according to Edevbie.