​ There are three ways to vote in an election:

• Vote from home before Election Day

• Vote in person before Election Day

• Vote in person on Election Day 

 

Each of these options has different requirements, which are explained in this section.

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VOTING FROM HOME BEFORE ELECTION DAY

You can vote from home before Election Day using an absentee ballot. The ballot is sent to you, you complete it at home, and then you return it by a certain required date. This is a good option if you want to avoid lines at your polling place or early voting site, if you think you might be out of town on Election Day, or if you just want to take your time filling out your ballot.

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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 two 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.

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What if I need help filing out or turning in my absentee ballot application? ​

Anyone can help you complete the application, but you must sign the application yourself, using your official signature, that is, the signature that you used to sign your driver’s license or your voter registration application. If a mark or signature stamp is your official signature, you can use that mark or signature stamp to sign your application. 

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If you need help returning the application, you can ask an immediate family member or a person from your household to mail it or drop it off for you. If no one from your immediate family or household can help, you can ask any registered voter to return the application for you. The registered voter who returns your application must sign the application form where indicated.

 

What if I need help filing out or turning in my absentee ballot? 

If you are disabled or otherwise unable to mark your ballot, you can choose someone to help you fill it out, like a friend or a family member. The person you choose cannot be your employer, an agent of your employer, or an officer or agent of your labor union. If someone helps you fill out your ballot, that person must sign where indicated on the outside of the ballot return envelope. 

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If you need help returning your ballot, you can ask an immediate family member or a person from your household to mail or drop it off for you. If no one from your immediate family or household can help, 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.

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What if I'm on the Permanent Mail Ballot List?

Starting in May 2023, voters could sign up to join the “Permanent Mail Ballot List” and receive a ballot by mail before all future elections. If you signed up for this list, you do not need to submit another absentee ballot application each time. You will automatically receive a ballot by mail before all future elections.

 

If you were previously on the list to receive an absentee ballot application before each election, you will receive an application before the next election. You will need to complete this application and return it to your city or township clerk in order to receive your absentee ballot.  

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How can I join the Permanent Mail Ballot List?

If you would like to automatically receive an absentee ballot before each election, without having to submit a new application each time, you can join the Permanent Mail Ballot List. To join the list, simply check the box that says “automatically send me an absent voter ballot for each future election for which I’m eligible” on your next absentee ballot application.

 

Any Michigan voter can join the list, but it is best suited for voters who wish to vote from home in every election and who generally receive their absentee ballot at the same address for each election.

 

Can I track my application for an absentee ballot and my absentee ballot?

You can track your absentee ballot and application by visiting mi.gov/vote and clicking on “your voter information.”

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You can see this information:

• The date your clerk received your application for an absentee ballot.

• The date your clerk mailed your absentee ballot to you.

• The date your clerk received your absentee ballot after you mailed or delivered it to your clerk.

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If there is no date under a specific field, it means that step is not yet complete.

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What if I have my absentee ballot but decide to vote in person? ​

If you decide not to vote by mail, you can take your completed absentee ballot to your early voting site or (if you live anywhere other than Detroit) to your polling place and let the poll workers know that you would like to feed your absentee ballot into the tabulator. Alternatively, you can give your absentee ballot to the poll worker to spoil. They will give you a new ballot that you can use at the early voting site or polling place. 

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VOTING IN PERSON BEFORE ELECTION DAY

There are two ways to vote in person before Election Day: at an early voting site or at your city or township clerk’s office. (Voting at an early voting site, where you feed your ballot into a tabulator, may not be available in all elections in your community. To see whether early voting at an early voting site is available in a particular election, visit mi.gov/vote and click on "your voter information.")

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Follow these steps to vote at an early voting site:

If you vote at an early voting site, you will be able to put your ballot into the tabulator, just like on Election Day.

 

STEP 1: Find out when and where early voting is offered for your community. To find this information, visit mi.gov/vote and click on “your voter information.” You can also call your city or township clerk and ask for this information. Early voting must be available from the second Saturday before the Election through the Sunday before the Election, for at least eight hours each day. Some communities will have early voting for additional days and hours.

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STEP 2: Go to an early voting site for your community and check in with the poll workers. 

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STEP 3: Complete your ballot, place it in a secrecy sleeve, and deposit it into the tabulator–just like you do at your polling place on Election Day.

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To find out exactly when and where early voting will be offered in your community, visit mi.gov/vote and click on “your voter information.”

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Follow these steps to vote at your city or township clerk's office:

If you vote at your city or township clerk’s office, you will use an absentee ballot and will place it into an envelope to be tabulated later.

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STEP 1: Go to your city or township clerk’s office. To find yours:

• Visit mi.gov/vote  and click on “where are my clerk’s offices.” Enter your address to find your city or township clerk.

• Call your city or township and ask to be connected to your clerk.

• Call the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683)

 

​STEP 2: Complete an application for an absentee ballot and give it to the staff.  

 

STEP 3: Complete your ballot, place it in the envelope they give you, sign the outside of the envelope with your official signature, that is, the signature that you use to sign your driver’s license or voter registration form, and submit it to the staff.

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If you are registered to vote where you live, you can vote at your city or township clerk’s office starting 40 days before Election Day until the day before the Election at 4pm.

 

If you still need to register to vote where you live, you can vote at your city or township clerk’s office starting 40 days before Election Day until 8pm on Election Day, after registering to vote or updating your registration. 

 

VOTING IN PERSON ON ELECTION DAY

You can vote in person on Election Day. Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time, and you have the right to vote if you are in line by 8 p.m. This section answers important questions about voting on Election Day.

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Where do I vote on Election Day?​

Where you vote depends on if you are already registered to vote or not. 

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Option 1. You are already registered to vote where you live. If you are already registered to vote where you live, you must vote at your assigned polling place. Here are a few different ways that you can find your polling place: 

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• Visit mi.gov/vote and click on “your voter information.”

• Look at your Voter Identification Card.

• Call your city or township clerk. 

• Call the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).

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Option 2. You are not already registered to vote where you live. If you are not registered to vote where you live, you must visit your city or township clerk’s office with proof of residency by 8 p.m. on Election Day to register to vote. After you register, you can vote by absentee ballot at your clerk’s office or you can go to your polling place, if there’s time.

 

Some communities may have Election Day Vote Centers. An Election Day Vote Center is a place where voters can go to register and then vote a ballot and feed it into a tabulator. To find out if your community has an Election Day Vote Center, visit mi.gov/vote and click on “your voter information.”

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What if I've moved?

It’s best to update your voter registration as soon as you move. But if you didn’t, you still have options.

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If you moved to a different city or township:

• If you moved more than 60 days before Election Day, you must register at your new address and vote in your new city or township. 

• If you moved between 60 and 30 days before Election Day, you can either vote in your old city or township one last time or you can register at your new address and vote in your new city or township.

• If you moved within 30 days of Election Day, you must vote in your old city or township, because you will not yet be eligible to vote at your new address.

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If you moved to another location in the same city or township: you can register to vote at your new address or you can vote at your old polling place one last time.