Live: 2024 Michigan election results
It's Election Day 2024. Voting has concluded in one of the most contentious U.S. presidential elections in recent history.
So when will the election results be available, and where? Complete unofficial results are not expected until Wednesday morning at the earliest, but the Free Press expects to be able to declare some winners through partial unofficial results, based on projections made by the Associated Press.
Election Day 2024: Live updates from the polls in Michigan
In addition to deciding which presidential candidate will win Michigan's 15 electoral votes, Michigan citizens have cast their ballots in a nationally watched and hugely expensive U.S. Senate race that could help determine which party controls that chamber in Washington, D.C.
Michigan's election will also determine whether Democrats will maintain their slim hold on the state House of Representatives.
Also on the ballot are two Michigan Supreme Court seats and board seats for three public universities and the State Board of Education, plus a number of significant local races around the state.
Check back here later Tuesday, after polls close at 8 p.m. ET across most of Michigan, and the rest of the week to see updates on race totals from contests up and down the ballot.
Michigan election results 2024
Our election 2024 coverage
What's at stake on Election Day?
Whether one supports the Democratic candidate for president, Vice President Kamala Harris, or the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, each promises a different future for the U.S. and for Michigan.
To cite just a few examples, Harris would defend the rights of women to make their own reproductive choices, while Trump says he would leave it up to individual states to decide those issues. Harris generally supports a gradual transition to electric vehicles in the automotive industry that Trump generally opposes. Trump promises double-digit tariffs on foreign imports as a way to pressure foreign manufacturers to build their products in the U.S., Harris says that would amount to a national sales tax that would hurt consumers. Trump promises mass deportations of undocumented migrants that Harris opposes.
Also at stake:
Michigan's choices for the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House could make the difference in determining which of the two main political parties controls each chamber.
Control of the Michigan State House also is up for grabs and will impact to what extent Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is able to implement what remains of her agenda in the final two years of her time in office.
And the choices Michigan makes for the state Supreme Court will determine whether Democratic nominees will maintain their current 4-3 majority on that influential body.
When will we know full election results?
When the polls close at 8 p.m. local time, election officials can begin reporting out unofficial election results. While results will start pouring in when the polls close, the outcome of any race may not be clear for awhile. It depends on how close the race is and how many voters return their absentee ballots on Election Day. Absentee ballots take longer to process than ballots cast in-person due to the additional steps involved after a voter returns their absentee ballot to verify and log the ballot, and then prepare it for tabulation.
In 2020, the Associated Press — which tracks races across the U.S. — wasn't able to call President Joe Biden as winning Michigan until 5:56 p.m. ET Wednesday, the day after the Nov. 3, 2020 election. The AP has called races before all of the votes are counted based on an analysis of the votes that have already been reported and other election data. The Free Press relies on the AP's calls.
Clara Hendrickson contributed.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan election results 2024: Live