STEP 1: Get your application for an absentee ballot.

If you want to vote from home, and you’re not already on the Permanent Mail Ballot List, you will first need to apply for an absentee ballot. Here’s how you can get an application for an absentee ballot: 

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• Call or visit your city or township clerk’s office and ask for an absentee ballot application. 

• Visit mi.gov/vote. If you have a Michigan Driver’s License or State ID, you can fill out an application online by clicking on “apply for an absentee ballot online,” or you can download and print an application by clicking on “voter forms and publications” and scrolling down to “absentee voter ballot.”

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STEP 2: Complete your application for an absentee ballot.

If you filled out your application online at mi.gov/vote, you’re all set.

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If you choose to use a paper application instead, you will need to fill it out and sign it using your official signature, that is, the signature that you used to sign your driver’s license or your voter registration application. When you complete the application, you will be able to choose whether to have a ballot mailed to you for a specific upcoming election or for all future elections.

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STEP 3: Turn in your application for an absentee ballot.

If you filled out your application online at mi.gov/vote, you’re all set. If you filled out a paper application, you’ll need to submit it to your city or township clerk. You can submit the signed application 

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• In person to your city or township clerk’s office.

• Using a secure drop box provided by your city or township clerk.

• By email, mail, or fax.

 

You can track when your application is received by your clerk and when your ballot is mailed to you by visiting mi.gov/vote and clicking on “your voter information.” If there is no date next to a particular step, it means that step is not yet complete.

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Submit your application for an absentee ballot early! You need to apply with enough time for you to get a ballot, complete it, and return it to your city or township clerk by the required deadline. We recommend that you submit your application at least three weeks before Election Day.

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STEP 4: Vote your absentee ballot.

Look for your absentee ballot to arrive in the mail. Once it arrives

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1. Fill it out

2. Place it in the envelope provided

3. Sign the outside of the envelope with your official signature, that is, the signature that you used to sign your driver’s license or your voter registration application.

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STEP 5: Turn in your absentee ballot.

Submit your completed ballot to your city or township clerk as soon as possible. Use any of these methods:

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• Send it by mail. Your ballot envelope will come with pre-paid postage, so you don’t need to add a stamp.

• Drop it off at your city or township clerk's office or in a secure drop box provided by your clerk.

• Have an immediate family member or a person from your household drop it off for you.

• If you can’t mail or drop off your ballot or have an eligible person mail or drop off your ballot for you, you can ask your city or township clerk to pick up your completed ballot, so long as your ballot is in the city or township where you are registered to vote. If you need your clerk to pick up your ballot, you must call your clerk by 5pm on the Friday before Election Day.

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In most cases, your completed ballot must be received by your city or township clerk by 8pm on Election Day to count. However, if you are serving in the military or living overseas, your completed ballot must be postmarked by Election Day and received by your city or township clerk within six days after the election.