KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Voters in Michigan should expect to begin receiving their absentee ballots this week.
Under Michigan law, clerks are required to mail out the ballots at least 45 days before the election. They began with military and voters overseas on Saturday, September 19 and now the rest of the ballots will start going out on Thursday, September 24.
Earlier this week, Kalamazoo City Clerk Scott Borling confirmed about 16,000 ballots needed to go out by Thursday, and by Monday, 6,000 had already been prepared.
In order to make voting more accessible, the City of Kalamazoo passed a resolution this week that, among other provisions, will include expanded hours for requesting an absentee ballot.
“Starting on October 5, the open office hours will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and we’ll carry those hours through until the Friday prior to the election,” Borling said.
That Friday, October 30, is the last day Michigan residents have to request an absentee ballot. Two nights of that month, October 19 and 27, have been designated as extended evening office hours for that purpose. The Clerk’s office will be open until 9 p.m. on those nights.
“We’re gonna have, between those two days, eight hours of evening office hours where we’re open,” Borling said.
According to City Documents, October 19 was chosen as a date for evening hours because that day is the close of registration, and city staff wants “to give citizens every opportunity to register to vote by that day.” Voters can still register during the 14 days prior to and including Election Day, but the city says it is much easier for voters to register before the close.
Additionally, the Clerk’s office will provide registration and ballot request services on two Saturdays in October. On those days, the office will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those Saturdays are October 24 and 31.
However, voters can still register and vote on election day, but doing so at that point would require a stop at the Clerk’s office. That ballot must be returned by 8 p.m. on election day.
Ballots can be mailed or returned to the City Clerk’s office, or they can be returned in any Ballot Drop Box installed around the city, such as behind Kalamazoo City Hall.
“We installed our first drop box behind City Hall just before the May election, and that has been very well received,” Borling said. “For the August election, on election day, we received back almost 1,000 ballots, and of those 1,000 ballots, between 700-800 of them came through that drop box behind city hall, so that’s been a great option for voters.”
Locations for the extra drop boxes are yet to be determined, but Borling confirmed they had been delivered at the end of last week. He added that was about three weeks ahead of schedule.
In addition, first class stamps will be applied to absentee ballot return envelopes so that returning a ballot will be free for the voter.
According to the Secretary of State, once an absentee ballot request is received by the local clerk, the signature on the request will be checked against that voter’s registration record before a ballot is issued.
Overall, officials are encouraging voters to request their absentee ballots as soon as possible, and then immediately return their completed ballots to the Clerk’s Office. However, they encourage early voting regardless of what the method is.
Statewide, the Secretary of State’s Office announced this week that more than 2.3 million absentee ballot requests have been submitted as of Monday, September 21. Ballots for overseas and military voters have also begun ahead of Thursday, as well.
In order to better help educate residents on the voting process and absentee ballots, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel announced a partnership earlier this month in the form of a video series. That series is called “Ready for November,” where Benson and other speakers work to make voters more aware of their options, as well as address security concerns.
All voters are encouraged to visit the Secretary of State Voter Information website to find answers to other questions, including a page that allows voters to check their registration status.
Comments