Michigan secretary of state: Don't put absentee ballots in the mail later than Tuesday

Michigan citizens who are voting absentee should not put their ballots in the mail later than Tuesday, Oct. 22, according to the Michigan Secretary of State's Office.

After that date, absentee ballots should instead be dropped off at the local clerk's office "to avoid potential mailing delays," the office recommends. Voters can locate their local clerk's office through the website of the Bureau of Elections.

To be counted, absentee ballots sent from within the United States must be received by local clerks no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5. By law, overseas and military ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received within six days of the election. Attorney General Dana Nessel issued an opinion Oct. 4 extending that deadline to seven days after the election for this year, since the sixth day falls on Veterans Day, a federal holiday.

Clerks send absentee ballots to voters with prepaid return envelopes, meaning no additional postage is needed.

In addition to the clerk's office, absentee ballots can be returned to local ballot drop boxes or to local early voting sites, or to the resident's voting precinct on Election Day.

As of Oct. 15, more than 672,000 voters in Michigan had returned an absentee ballot.

Monday was the deadline for online voter registration, as well as registration by mail. In Michigan, in-person voter registration continues through Election Day.

Michigan is a key battleground state in the Nov. 5 presidential election. Polls show a close race between Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrat, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tuesday is the last day to safely return your absentee ballot by mail