With three weeks until Michigan’s Nov. 5 General Election, more than 2.1 million registered voters have requested an absentee ballot and more than 670,000 of those voters have submitted their completed ballot.

In Michigan, voters can vote absentee for any reason, vote in person at their local early voting site, or at polls on Election Day.

Approximately 31% of voters who requested absentee ballots for the upcoming election have already completed and returned their ballot, compared to about 34% who had submitted their ballots three weeks before the 2020 election. The 2020 General Election took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and its related social distancing recommendations. That year, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson mailed absentee ballot applications to each Michigan voter to promote remote voting options during the pandemic.

As of Oct. 15, a total of 2,133,272 Michigan citizens have requested an absentee ballot or received a ballot after joining the permanent absentee ballot list. So far, 672,585 voters have returned their completed absentee ballot to be counted. A breakdown of absentee ballot requests and returns by jurisdiction is available online.

Voters can check the status of their absentee application or ballot online at Michigan.gov/Vote or by contacting their local election clerk. Voters can now register to receive those notifications directly to their email inbox. There are three ways to sign up – when registering to vote, when submitting an online absentee ballot application, or by visiting Michigan.gov/Vote and clicking on the signup link. Voters who already received an absentee ballot should promptly complete it, sign the back of the envelope, and mail it or drop it off at their clerk’s office or designated ballot drop box.

Eligible Michigan citizens can register to vote online or by mail until Monday, Oct. 21, or in person at their local clerk’s office with proof of residency by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

To cast a ballot in person, voters can go to an early voting site in their jurisdiction from Oct. 26 to Nov. 3 or to their polling place on Election Day, Nov. 5, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Some jurisdictions are offering early voting sooner in accordance with the state constitution allowing in-person early voting to start as soon as 29 days before Election Day. Detroit will open its early voting centers on Saturday, Oct. 19 and East Lansing and Canton Township will open early voting centers on Monday, Oct. 21.

Visit Michigan.gov/EarlyVoting to find the days, hours, and locations where early voting sites are operating in your community. In Otsego County, registered voters may cast ballots early, in person, from Oct. 26 to Nov. 3 at City Hall, 305 E. Main Street, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Visit Michigan.gov/Vote for more information about elections and voting in Michigan.