Here are some frequently asked questions about voting:

Q. Where can I see a sample of my ballot? 

A. You can look up your ballot ahead of time by going to https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/Voter/Index and putting in your information.

Q. Where is my polling place? 

A. With hundreds of locations in Detroit, the easiest way to determine you polling place is to go to https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/Voter/Index and put in your information. You can also consult your voter registration card. Or you can call your city clerk. Chances are good that your polling place will be near the address you registered to vote with. 

Q. What to do if you have a disability and need help with voting?

A. Voters with disabilities can contact the Michigan Bureau of Elections Ombudsperson for Accessible Elections for assistance.

Email: MDOS-ADAVoting@Michigan.gov

Phone: 517-335-2730

 More information on accessible elections and voting is available at Michigan.gov/Vote.

Source: Michigan Secretary of State

Q. What kind of ID do I need to vote?

A. Lawmakers last year approved legislation to expand what forms of voter identification are accepted at the polls. Options include a voter’s U.S. passport, tribal photo identification, military identification or a student ID in addition to a person’s driver’s license. 

Voters without identification on their person are still allowed to sign an affidavit confirming their identity to cast their ballot, a controversial rule opposed by Republicans that was enshrined into the constitution under 2022’s Proposal 2. 

Q. What are my voting rights in Michigan?

A. Language access

Michigan residents have the right to bring a non-English interpreter with them to the polls for assistance in casting a ballot. Your interpreter cannot influence your vote, cannot be your employer, an agent of your employer, or an officer or agent of your labor union.

No photo identification requirement

If you do not have picture ID with you, you can still cast a ballot.

No-reason absentee voting

Every registered voter in Michigan has the right to use an absent voter ballot to vote from home, vote early, or vote by mail.

Same-day voter registration

Eligible Michigan residents can register to vote on Election Day by visiting a designated local clerk’s office and providing proof of residency.

Returning citizens

Michigan residents who are not currently serving a sentence in jail or prison have the right to register to vote and cast a ballot.

Voter accessibility

Michigan voters have the right to accessible polling places and to utilize Voter Assist Terminals (VATs) for assistance casting a ballot. VATs are ballot marking devices with special accommodations for hearing, visual, physical, and other disabilities. Voters have the right to vote independently and privately without assistance using a VAT, and on-site election inspectors (poll workers) are available to assist or provide instruction upon request.

Q. What can I do if I feel my voting rights are being violated?

A. If you experience any issues casting your ballot on or before Election Day, contact the Election Protection Hotline for assistance:

• English: 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) 
• Spanish: 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682) 
• Arabic: 844-YALLA-US (844-925-5287) 
• Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese: 888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683) 

Q. What is teen pre-registration? 

A. The voting age is still 18, but 16- and 17-year-olds in Michigan will be able to pre-register to vote so they are automatically registered upon turning 18.

The option is available until a teen is less than six months from turning 18, at which point they’d have to wait to register until their birthday. 

Q. What guardrails are in place for election results certification?

A. New laws governing election certification align Michigan with the federal Electoral Count Reform Act, which was introduced in Congress with a handful of GOP co-sponsors and signed last year by Democratic President Joe Biden.

Among other things, the federal law makes clear that the vice president has a “ministerial” duty to count electoral votes that states send to Congress, contradicting former President Donald Trump’s claim that Mike Pence could and should have blocked certification of the 2020 presidential election.

The new Michigan law similarly states that partisan election canvassers at both the county and state levels have a “ministerial, clerical, and nondiscretionary duty” to certify results based on results compiled by local clerks.

The Michigan measure also speeds up the timeline for completing the post-election canvass and clarifies that only the governor can submit a list of presidential electors to congress. It also changes the nominating process for the bipartisan Board of State Canvassers. 

Q. How can I work as a poll worker?

A. Detroit has 503 voting precincts and 134 absentee counting boards. During an election, each of these precincts and boards requires a staff of paid precinct inspectors to assist voters as they arrive at the polls on Election Day.

Registered voters interested in serving as precinct inspectors must submit an election inspector application and take a brief test at the Detroit Department of Elections. In addition to your name, address and date of birth, applicants must include their political party preference and qualifications to fill the position such as education or experience.

A precinct inspector who is 18 years of age or older must be a registered voter of the State. They cannot be a challenger, candidate, member of a candidate’s immediate family, or a member of the local Board of Canvassers. Anyone convicted of a felony or an election crime may not serve.

Citizens who are 16 and 17 may also apply and work as a precinct inspector.

Go to the Department of Elections and complete the Election Inspector Application (https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/b04e588355bc479994d4afa45f626a32)

Each training session will last approximately two and a half hours.

You do not have to be a resident of Detroit. If you are 18 years of age or older, you must be registered to vote in Michigan. 16 or 17 year olds may also work as a poll worker.

You will be assigned to one of the polling precincts located throughout the City of Detroit. The goal is to assign you to the closest available polling precinct to your home.

You will be paid based on classification. All Poll workers checks are mailed within three to six weeks after each election. 

Source: City of Detroit

Q. What protections have been put in place for poll workers?

A. A 2023 law makes it a crime to intimidate or otherwise threaten election workers in an attempt to stop them from performing their duties. Penalties would start at 93 days in jail and up to a $500 fine for a first offense. 

Other legislation signed in recent years created an option for prospective election workers to apply online. 

Q. Can I get a ride to the polls?

A. Another recent law repeals a ban on hired transportation to voting booths, an 1895 law believed to have been the only one of its kind left in the country. 

Ride-share companies such as Uber and Lyft had cited the law for not offering discounted rides to polls, as the companies do in other states, and the ban had long been the subject of legal disputes.

Q. How can I get translation services?

A. Go to https://www.michigan.gov/sos/language-services

Q. How is my absentee ballot tracked and processed? 

A. No-reason absentee voting, approved by voters in 2018, has become a popular option for casting ballots in Michigan — more than 1.6 million voters requested absentee ballots in weeks prior to the 2022 general election. 

Voters can sign up for email or text alerts to track the status of their ballots once they’re submitted. In Detroit, you can go to detroitav.ballottrax.net/voter.

The more stringent tracking system also requires election officials to notify voters if their absentee application or ballot was rejected, along with the reason for doing so and how to resolve any issues. 

From a procedural standpoint, cities and townships of any size are now allowed to process and tabulate absentee ballots between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the Monday before Election Day, or on any of the eight days prior to Election Day if the municipality has over 5,000 residents. 

However, they cannot report any results until polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day.  

Once voters return their absentee ballots by mail, drop them off at a designated ballot drop box or deliver them to their local clerk in person, election officials scan the ballot envelope into the computer system and verify that the signature on the ballot envelope correlates with the signature on file. 

If a voter forgets to sign the envelope or the signature is significantly different than the one on file — or if someone else signed the envelope — the clerk’s office is supposed to notify the voter of the discrepancy and ask them to correct it. 

Ballots are then sorted by voters’ ward and precinct and cross-checked to ensure the number of ballots matches what’s recorded on the computer. The ballots are then stored in bins by ward and precinct and remain in storage until they can be processed or counted unless there’s a change in a voter’s status or a voter asks to spoil their ballot ahead of Election Day. 

Cities and townships of any size are now allowed to process and tabulate absentee ballots between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the Monday before Election Day, or on any of the eight days prior to Election Day if the municipality has over 5,000 residents. However, they cannot report any results until polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day. 

Q. What is permanent absentee voting?

A. Instead of submitting a new absentee ballot application for every election cycle, voters can opt to vote by mail in every election with a single application.

Registered voters who choose this option will get absentee ballots for all future elections unless they rescind their application, move without updating their registration address or don’t vote for six consecutive years. 

Voters can apply online and opt into the permanent program through the Secretary of State or by contacting their local clerk’s office. 

Don’t worry about finding a stamp, either — the changes also require election officials to provide pre-paid postage for absentee ballot-related mail. 

Q. How does absentee voting work for deployed military?

A. Absentee ballots cast by military or overseas voters will be given more time to count starting in 2024, even if they arrive after Election Day.

Typically, the deadline for voting is 8 p.m. on the day of an election. But under new election laws, if an out-of-country or military vote was postmarked on or before Election Day, and received by a clerk within six days of the election, the ballot would be added to the final count.