Michigan kicks off primary voting with absentee ballots
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Michigan voters can begin casting ballots Thursday for the Aug. 4 primary, kicking off a six-week voting period before Election Day.
Why it matters: Voters will pick which candidates for governor, U.S. Senate and other major races will advance from the primary to the Nov. 3 general election.
State of play: Election officials have already started mailing out absentee ballots. Some voters will begin receiving them later this week.
By the numbers: Detroit expects to send about 99,000 absentee ballots for the primary, according to Matt Friedman, spokesman for Detroit Votes, a voter education campaign that partners with the city's elections department.
Catch up quick: Michigan's absentee and early voting rules have evolved in the past several years.
- Michigan voters approved no-reason absentee voting in 2018, allowing any registered voter to request and cast an absentee ballot without providing a reason.
- Sweeping election reforms passed in 2022 also provide more opportunities for in-person early voting.
What they're saying: Voting absentee is especially popular in primary elections, which typically draw voters who are more well-versed in candidates and party politics.
- "Most of the voters in Michigan are going to have a ballot in their hand within the next week or two," Michael Siegrist, Canton Township's clerk and president of the Michigan Association of Municipal Clerks, told the Detroit News.
Zoom in: Detroit voters have now used the state's expanded voting options during both the 2024 presidential election and the city's 2025 mayoral race, giving them more experience with the system than some communities that didn't hold major local elections last year, Friedman tells Axios.
- "This is the third year in a row that Detroiters have really had the same laws for absentee and early voting," he says.
What's next: Voters who are not yet registered can register online, by mail or in person.
- Michigan also allows eligible residents to register and vote in person at their local clerk's office through Election Day.