What to know about absentee voting and security in Michigan

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — With many voters taking advantage of no-reason absentee voting, local county clerks are reassuring them that there are measures in place to secure these ballots.

In both Ottawa and Kent counties, absentee voting rates are high, according to the clerks.

“A lot of these changes are really positive options for voters. It’s great. It’s a convenience issue. Voters are able to sit down at their kitchen table and fill out an absentee ballot while they’ve got Google open — be able to research what’s on their ballot and vote in the privacy of their own home,” Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck said.

He told News 8 that around 45% to 50% of Ottawa County voters use absentee ballots.

“I think that’s probably where we’re going to stay in the long run,” Roebuck said.

“I don’t think we’ll ever see the days where you’ve got 25% to 30% of your voters are casting absentee ballots. I think it’s going to remain higher than that,” Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons said. “That’s just kind of the new world.”

Because of a ballot proposal passed in 2022 that included a number of election reforms, voters no longer have to apply for an absentee ballot for each election.

“We now have what’s essentially automatic absentee ballots going out to an individual voter who has signed an absentee ballot application and checked the box that they want to have an absentee ballot delivered to them in all future elections in perpetuity,” Posthumus Lyons said. “Rather than, prior to these voter changes, every time an individual wanted an absentee ballot, they had to send an application in first.”

The changes make it all the more important for voters to update their registration when they move, Posthumus Lyons reminded people.

“Because of all these changes, it is so important that our voter list is up to date, it’s accurate, it’s functioning and it’s well-maintained,” she said. “And of course election officials (and) our local clerk’s office do a great job of maintaining the voter lists on their end. But with all these changes, there’s a role to play by our voters in making sure our lists are accurate.”

So what happens if a voter moves but forgets to update their registration, causing an absentee ballot to be sent to their former address?

“It’s absolutely a concern when ballots are being sent to individuals that are no longer eligible to vote in our elections. But that’s why it’s so important that we have these checks and balances in place in our process,” Posthumus Lyons said. “Once (an absentee ballot) is received by the local clerk, before it’s ever approved to be tabulated, the voter has to sign the back of the absentee ballot envelope. And that signature is basically the key that unlocks the absentee vote.”

The local clerk will compare the signature on the ballot with the signature on file for that person.

“If those signatures match, that ballot is accepted,” Posthumus Lyons explained. “If the signatures don’t match, the ballot is rejected.”

If a ballot is rejected, she said, the clerk will notify the voter that they have three days to fix the situation.

“Because sometimes signatures don’t match and it’s not a fraudulent situation. It’s a matter of an individual aging, an individual using their middle name or middle initials,” Posthumus Lyons said. “Truly, there are logical explanations why a signature wouldn’t match, but we don’t want to take that for granted.”

If the voter says they never sent back an absentee ballot, that’s when law enforcement gets involved, she said.

SUBMITTING ABSENTEE BALLOTS

Absentee ballots can be returned via mail, as long as it has enough time to reach your local clerk. The clerk must receive your ballot by 8 p.m. on election day.

“What I would always say to voters is when it gets to be about 10 days prior to the election, don’t mail your ballot,” Roebuck said.

He said you can physically bring your absentee ballot to your local clerk’s office, take it to your early voting site and run it through the election tabulator yourself, or bring it to a drop box in your community. You can look up drop box locations on the state’s website here .

The Kent County clerk told News 8 that drop boxes for absentee ballots are nothing new.

“Virtually all of our local jurisdictions had a drop box, prior to the pandemic even. Most of them are located on the grounds of the jurisdiction’s city or township hall. But they are not new. They’ve always been a convenient way for voters to return their absentee ballots,” Posthumus Lyons said.

As absentee voting rates increased — particularly during the pandemic — drop boxes got a great deal of attention. As a result, they now have “enhanced security,” according to Posthumus Lyons.

“They have video footage. They are required to have this chain of custody documentation for who has emptied the drop box, what the ballots were, the time it was,” she said. “And they’re required to do it on a regular, consistent basis.”

You can visit michigan.gov/vote to see whether your absentee ballot has been received. The primary is set for Aug. 6.

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