Secretary Of State Sees Huge Absentee Turnout

electiongood3-42
electiongood3-42

The Michigan Secretary of State reports absentee ballot numbers continue to grow steadily ahead of the August 4 state primary, with more than 1.8 million requested and more than 600,000 already returned. The total number of absentee ballots cast in the August 2016 state primary was just 484,000. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says the volume of ballots they’re seeing this year “underscores the near universal enthusiasm Michigan voters share for casting their ballot in a way that is safe, secure, and convenient.” Voters in 2018 amended the state constitution to allow all Michigan voters to cast ballots from home. The first statewide election after that amendment passed was the March 10, 2020, presidential primary, which occurred before there were any known cases of COVID-19 in Michigan. In that primary, one million absent-voter ballots were issued, compared to the 1.8 million already issued for August 4 now the COVID is here.