Detroit early voting starts Saturday
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Early voting starts Saturday in Detroit, giving the city's registered voters a convenient new method of casting their ballots before Election Day on Nov. 5.
Why it matters: This will be Michigan's first presidential election with early in-person voting.
- The new option was among election reforms passed in 2022 to expand voting options and give local election officials more time to process ballots before Election Day.
Between the lines: The early in-person voting experience is similar to casting your ballot at your voting precinct on Election Day, election officials say.
- The Secretary of State's online voter information center has a search tool to identify your early voting options.
- Completed absentee ballots can be submitted at an early voting center.
State of play: Detroit's early voting centers are opening earlier than any other city in Michigan.
- Starting at 9am on Saturday, 14 early voting sites across the city will be open every day from 9am-5pm until Nov. 3. Here's the list of sites.
- The vast majority of municipalities across the state will have the state's minimum of nine early voting days starting on Oct. 26, according to the Secretary of State's office.
The latest: Mayor Mike Duggan and his wife, Sonia Hassan, plan to vote on Saturday, per a city press release.
- "During major elections, the crowds at polling places on Election Day can discourage some people from voting. We want to make sure that every Detroiter who is registered to vote has the ability to legally cast their vote early, when and where it is most convenient to them," Duggan said.
Zoom in: The Pistons, the Detroit city clerk and other local groups are kicking off early voting Saturday with a celebration from 8am-9pm near the city's elections department headquarters, on West Grand Boulevard between Third and Cass Avenues.
- The event features carnival rides, food trucks and performances by Lil Baby and local rappers such as Baby Face Ray and Sada Baby. Tickets are free.
What they're saying: Requesting an absentee ballot and returning it to an early voting center gives voters "the best of both worlds," Sterling Heights city clerk Melanie Ryska tells Axios Detroit.
- "If you get your ballot at home, you can sit at your kitchen table, have your coffee, do your research, mark your ballot, and then you can actually bring your ballot here to our early vote site, or on Election Day, you can take it to your polling location," Ryska says.
Check out our voting cheat sheet with information about registering to vote, absentee voting and more.