Michigan Aug. 6 primary: What to know about absentee ballots, early voting

• Michigan’s Aug. 6 election includes primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, the state House and more
• Over 1.5 million absentee ballots have  been sent to Michigan voters and more than 634,000 have been returned
• Michiganders can still register to vote and have multiple options to participate in the primary, including an early voting period

If you're one of the nearly 1 million Michigan voters who requested an absentee ballot for the Aug. 6 primary but haven’t yet returned it, it’s probably too late to mail it now, according to the Michigan Secretary of State. 

Instead, if you still want to vote absentee, you should return your ballot to a drop box (find one here) or your local clerk’s office. You can also bring your absentee ballot to an early-voting site (find yours here) before Election Day. 

But here’s the important thing to know: Your absentee ballot has to reach your clerk by the time polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day for it to count, and you don’t want to risk potential mail delays. 

As of Thursday, 1,589,363 Michigan voters had been sent absentee ballots, and 634,898 had been returned, according to the state. That means 954,465 voters have not yet returned ballots they requested. 

Related:

• Michigan elections FAQ: Are noncitizens registered to vote when obtaining state ID?
• Who's on Michigan’s 2024 primary ballot? Trump, Biden have competition

With the primary election fast approaching, here’s what else to know: 

Voter registration

You can still register to vote through Election Day, but you have to do it in person at this point. Michigan law prohibits residents from registering to vote online or by mail within 14 days of the election. Click here to learn more.

Likewise, voters who are already registered but want to update their registration must do it in person at their local clerk’s office. 

Michigan now allows same-day voter registration until 8 p.m. on Election Day at your local clerk’s office. 

In-person voting

Michigan’s new early voting period begins Saturday, July 27, and runs through Aug. 4. If you choose this option, you can fill out a ballot and feed it into a tabulator to see it counted — just like Election Day. Find your early voting site here

If you want to vote on Election Day itself, remember that polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. As long as you’re in line by then, your vote will count. Find your polling place here. 

If you requested an absentee ballot but want to vote in person instead, you can use your ballot at an early voting site or "spoil" it to get a new one on site. 

Some basics about voting

To be eligible to vote in Michigan, you must: 

• Be a citizen of the U.S. 
• Have lived in the city or township they are registering in for at least 30 days before the election 
• Not be serving a jail or prison sentence 
• Be at least 18 years old 

If you're going to vote in person, bring photo identification, because you'll be asked to show it. If you’re registered to vote but don't have an ID or forget to bring it, you can still vote by signing an affidavit attesting to your identity.