A voting sign in East Lansing, Feb. 24, 2024 | Susan J. Demas
In-person voting is proceeding fairly smoothly across the state, according to the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office.
“It’s not uniform across the state, but where there are lines, they are moving quickly and we have not had any significant backups reported or any problems related to waiting to vote today,” said spokeswoman Angela Benander during a midday press briefing.
Benander said as of 11:30 a.m., there were 3,345,823 total returned ballots, which represented approximately 46.1% of the active registered voters in Michigan. Of that number, 2,131,374 were absentee ballots, of which 25,000 were returned on Tuesday.
Additionally, 3,704 voters had registered on Tuesday, up from the 829 same day voter registrations reported at 9 a.m.
In 2018, voters in Michigan approved Proposal 3, which added eight voting policies to the Michigan Constitution, among them same-day voter registration.
Since then, eligible citizens can register or update their voter registration in person at their city or township clerk’s office through 8 p.m. on Election Day. However, they must bring proof of residency in order to do so.
Benander said both Detroit and Flint were reporting they were processing ballots submitted in advance at a quick pace.
“So, we’re happy to hear reports from those larger jurisdictions that are taking advantage of the new law that allows them to preprocess absentee ballots ahead of election day with the hopes of helping speed things along a little bit on election night when it comes to reporting on official results,” she said.
Statistics on the number of registered voters actually casting their ballots in person today won’t be made available until after 9 p.m., when all the polls have closed in Michigan, including the four counties in the Upper Peninsula on Central Time.