VOTE FROM HOME
BEFORE ELECTION DAY

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 first need to apply for an absentee ballot. Use one of these ways to get an application for an absentee ballot:

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

• Visit mi.gov/vote and fill out an application online by clicking on “Apply for an absentee ballot online.”

• Visit mi.gov/vote 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, 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 an absentee 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:

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

• Using a secure ballot drop box in your city or township.

• 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 receive a ballot, complete it, and return it to your city or township clerk by the 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:

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:

• 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 ballot drop box in your city or township.

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

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Alternatively, you can take your completed absentee ballot to your early voting site or, if you live anywhere other than Detroit, to your polling place on Election Day and put it into a tabulator. Just let the poll workers know that you’d like to do this when you arrive. 

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If you can't turn in your completed ballot using any of the above options, you can ask your city or township clerk to pick it up as long as your ballot is in the city or township where you are registered to vote and you call your clerk no later than 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day. 

 

In most cases, your completed ballot must be received by your city or township clerk by 8 p.m. 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.

I'm hand-delivering my ballot to my city or township clerk or placing it in a drop box. When does the clerk need to get it?​​

By 8 p.m. on November 3rd for the November 3rd General Election.

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I'm not serving in the military or living overseas, and I'm mailing my ballot. When should I send it?

​Ballots should be sent no later than October 20th for the November 3rd General Election.

 

I'm serving in the military or living overseas. When should I send my ballot and when must my clerk receive it?

For the November 3rd General Election: 

• Ballots must be postmarked by November 3rd.

• Ballots are due by November 9th.

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I need to have the clerk pick up my ballot. When do I need to call them?

​By 5 p.m. on October 30th for the November 3rd General Election.

What if I need help filling out my absentee ballot application?

Anyone can help you complete the application, but you must sign it yourself using your official signature. Your official signature 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.

What if I need help turning in my absentee ballot application?

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 filling out my absentee ballot?

If you are a person with a disability or otherwise can't mark your ballot, you can choose someone to help you fill it out, like a friend or a family member. The person you choose can't 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.

What if I need help turning in my absentee ballot?

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, as long as your ballot is in the city or township where you are registered to vote, and you call your clerk by 5 p.m. on the Friday before Election Day.

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

If you are on the Permanent Mail Ballot List, you will automatically receive a ballot by mail before all future elections. There's no need to submit a new application each time.

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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, on your next absentee ballot application, simply check the box saying that you would like to automatically receive an absentee ballot for each future election for which you’re eligible.

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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.

 

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

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You can also sign up to automatically get email updates about your absentee ballot and application by going to mi.gov/vote and clicking on "Subscribe to Ballot Notifications." 

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How do I vote by absentee ballot if I’m in a psychiatric hospital?

Have a social worker help you get and complete an absentee ballot application. In section 4 of the application, use the mailing address of the psychiatric hospital, unless you will be released before the election. Be sure to sign the application yourself.

 

When your ballot arrives, fill it out, place it in the envelope provided, sign the outside of the envelope with your official signature, and return the ballot to your city or township clerk. Your official signature is the signature that you used to sign your driver’s license or your voter registration application.

 

If you have problems voting in a psychiatric hospital, you can contact your hospital’s Office of Recipient Rights or Disability Rights Michigan. To contact Disability Rights Michigan, call (800) 288-5923 (TTY: (517) 374-4687) or visit DRMich.org.

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How do I vote by absentee ballot if I’m in jail?

If you are in jail awaiting trial or sentencing, you are eligible to vote. Work with corrections staff to get an absentee ballot application. You can also speak with the deputy, counselor, or warden if you are having trouble applying for your ballot. If you can’t get assistance from these individuals, ask family or friends to help you exercise your right to vote.

 

When filling out the absentee ballot application, your registration address should be your home address, where you are registered to vote. The mailing address for your ballot should be the address of the facility where you are incarcerated, unless you know for sure you’re going to be released before the election.

 

Voting from jail can take a very long time, so we recommend starting the process as soon as possible.

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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 on Election Day and let the poll workers know that you would like to put your absentee ballot into the tabulator. Or, you can give (or "surrender") your absentee ballot to the poll workers, and they will give you a new ballot that you can complete at the early voting site or polling place.

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