absentee

This year, absentee ballots are all the rage.

Michigan voters passed a ballot measure in 2018 that allows for no-reason absentee voting. Now, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused ballot requests to skyrocket. 

Starting September 24, local clerks will begin to send ballots to the 2.39 million Michiganders who have already requested them. That beats the previous record of two million ballot requests, which was just set in August.

More than 1.8 million Michiganders have requested absentee ballots, about two weeks before the August 4 primary.

607,079 absentee ballots have already been returned. Only 484,094 absentee ballots were cast in the 2016 August primary.

The American Civil Liberties Union claims Flint voters may be denied their right to vote absentee in the August primary.

The ACLU suit finds fault with how the Flint city clerk's office processes absentee ballot applications and other issues.  

Some election officials in Michigan say they want more time to be able to count absentee votes.

That would require a change in state law.

Barb Byrum is clerk of Ingham County. She says absentee ballots made up 68% of the vote in the county’s most recent election. She says that’s a significant increase compared to previous elections.