Oct. 19 deadline to register to vote online or by mail
Clerks urge ballots returned in person
Through Oct. 19, Michiganders with a state driver’s license or state IDcard can register to vote online at Michigan.gov/ Vote. You can also register to vote by mail through Oct. 19.
After Oct. 19 and through 8 p. m. on Election Day, residents with or without a Michigan ID, including students with a campus address, must register to vote in-person at their local clerk’s office by bringing a digital or paper document that proves residency, including name and address.
Acceptable documents include:
• Michigan driver’s license
• Current utility bill
• Bank statement
• Paycheck or government check
• Other government document
Since Aug. 5, over 300,000 Michiganders have registered to vote, including over 35,000 in Oakland County alone. There are now 1,028,002 registered voters in Michigan’s second- largest county, which is 12.7% of the state’s registered voter count.
The number of voters that have requested an absentee ballot also continues to rise, with 2,907,784 absentee ballots requested. Over 2.8 million of those ballots have been issued and 1.2 million returned.
After Oct. 19, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is recommending that voters return their ballots not by mail, but rather in-person at their local clerks office or by using a local ballot drop box. In addition, voters wishing to vote absentee after Oct. 19 are being encouraged to go directly to their clerk’s office in person if possible, where they can receive their ballot and vote it while they are there.
Voters who have requested an absentee ballot are being encouraged to cast their ballots as soon as possible by mail or inperson to their local ballot drop box or clerk’s office.
You can find your local ballot drop box location by visiting Michigan.gov/ Vote and entering your information under the “Your Clerk” section.
Local drop box locations can also be found at https://www.michigandropbox.com/counties. html, a website launched by Voters Not Politicians and All Voting Is Local.