Michigan primary early voting period ends Sunday. You have other options

• Early in-person voting for Michigan’s Aug. 6 primary ends Sunday
• Voters can find their early in-person voting location and Election Day precinct online. And absentee voting remains open. 
• The primary will decide congressional and state House candidates who advance to the general election

Michigan’s primary election is coming up fast — and so is the end of the state’s early in-person voting period, which concludes Sunday. 

But you still have other options to vote in the Tuesday primary, which features Democratic and Republican candidates running for 13 congressional districts, a U.S. Senate, 110 state House districts and local judicial races. Winners will advance to the Nov. 5 general election.

Registered voters can vote the Republican side of the primary ballot or the Democratic side — but not both. If you haven’t voted yet, here are your options:

Early voting

Michigan voters were given at least nine days to cast early ballots for the state’s Aug. 6 primaries, thanks to a new early in-person voting law.

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But that option ends Sunday. 

If you choose to vote early and in-person before the period ends, you can feed your ballot into a tabulator — just like on Election Day.

Over 78,000 Michigan voters cast ballots early and in person during the February presidential primary, making up about 4 percent of the total vote. Local clerks say the new option will be especially helpful to manage expected high turnout rates during the November election.

The number and location of early voting sites varies by community because of flexibility written into the law. Type in your voter information here to find your nearest early voting location. 

Absentee ballot voting

Michiganders can also vote early via absentee ballot. If you don’t already have an absentee ballot, it’s probably best to go to your local clerk’s office to request one in person. Today (Aug. 2) is the last day you can request a ballot online, but the secretary of state is discouraging that due to potential mail delays. 

Completed absentee ballots can be returned directly to a local clerk’s office, to an official drop-box or mailed with the provided pre-paid envelope. 

But because there are less than four days before the election, the secretary of state strongly recommends against relying on the mail. Your ballot won’t count if it doesn’t reach your local clerk by 8 p.m. on Election Day. 

To find your nearest drop box and check the status of your ballot, click here.

Voting on Election Day

If you choose to wait to vote on Election Day – which is Tuesday – polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. But if there is a line, you can still vote later as long as you were already there before closing. You can find your polling place here.

Bring a photo identification card to the polls if you have one. If you do not have one, you will be asked to sign an affidavit confirming your identity before casting your ballot.

If your name does not appear on the check-in list at the polling place, you will be issued a provisional ballot. Once a provisional ballot is cast, a voter has six days to provide appropriate identification to their local clerk. Once election officials can verify that a voter is correctly registered, the provisional ballot will be counted.

Registering to vote in Michigan

Any U.S. citizen above the age of 18 living in Michigan for more than 30 days is eligible to vote in the primary, with the exception of those in prison.

Michigan automatically registers to vote anyone who is eligible and of age when they obtain a state identification card or driver’s license. The deadline to register online for the Aug. 6 primary has already passed, but you can register to vote through Election Day at your local clerk’s office. 

To see if your voter registration is up to date, visit Michigan’s Voter Information Center here.