Watch CBS News

Absentee Ballot Numbers On The Rise In Michigan

(CBS DETROIT) - Absentee voting is changing the landscape of elections in the state of Michigan as many are skipping the ballot box on election day and heading to the mailbox.

"It was easy. Seamless. It's not very crowded down here so anybody that wants to put their absentee ballot in should do it now," said Sherri Smith of Detroit.

According to the Michigan Secretary of State 1.6 million absentee ballots were sent to voters throughout the state.

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the city of Detroit Department of Elections mailed over 500,00 ahead of the August primary. 

"I think that Covid-19 is affecting our voting process. Take precautions, you know do our social distancing, wear our masks, and we need to be encouraged. We need to be inspired. We need to vote," said Smith.

Satellite voting centers are also open to the public throughout seven districts in Detroit. 

"I decided to come down today and do my ballot because i'm going to be working in august. I'm going to be working the polls and i'm going to be assisting other people, especially seniors," said Smith.

If you still need to register to vote you have week to register online at michigan.gov/vote and if you want to spoil your ballot there's a deadline for that too.

Ballots must be mailed to the city clerk by Aug. 1.

Voters have until the Aug. 3 to drop off ballots in person.

© 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.