Detroit voters can now cast their ballots for the Feb. 27 presidential primary a week before Election Day by visiting early voting sites across the city.
Fourteen early voting centers are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Sunday, Feb. 25. Voters can also submit an absentee ballot at any of 35 drop boxes until polls close at 8 p.m. on Feb. 27. Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey said the extra time gives residents more opportunity to participate in elections. There were 205 Detroiters who cast their ballots at early voting centers this past weekend, according to the clerk’s office.
“My goal is to make voting easier and accessible,” Winfrey said. “We know we have transportation issues, we know our lives have so much to wrap around. (Voting) one day was never enough for me. If you can open up that process and make it easier, that’s what we all should be doing as election administrators.”
Changes in state law that were approved by voters in 2022 allows for nine days of early voting. Last Saturday marked the first time Michigan clerks implemented the new option, and roughly 6,587 voters statewide cast their ballots on the first day.
Carol Banks visited the Department of Elections headquarters in Detroit’s New Center neighborhood to cast her ballot for President Joe Biden. Banks said she’s used to using an absentee ballot to vote early.
There’s little difference for voters who are used to using satellite voting centers, Winfrey said. Detroit previously used satellite voting centers to allow residents to fill out absentee ballots before Election Day. Early voting centers allow voters to fill out a normal ballot and feed it into the tabulator. Votes won’t be tallied until Election Day, she said.
“For Detroit, this is not is not a new concept,” Winfrey said. “I started satellite voting because I wanted early voting.”
Winfrey said the 35 absentee ballot drop boxes are the most Detroit has ever provided. Teams of election workers will collect ballots from the drop boxes after polls close on Election Day.
The Detroit Department of Elections started pre-processing absentee ballots delivered by mail on Monday at Huntington Place. Legislation signed in 2022 allows clerks to get an early start on preparing ballots to be tabulated on Election Day, though the law does not allow absentee ballots to be counted early.
Roughly 243,400 more Michigan residents have voted early using absentee ballots compared to this point before the 2020 election. As of Feb. 13, 46,785 Detroiters had requested absentee ballots and 6,777 ballots were turned in.
The Secretary of State recommends hand-delivering absentee ballots to a drop box or clerk’s office within two weeks of the election. Voters who already mailed their ballot can also track its status online.
Check your voter registration status, find your polling place and find more information about the election at Michigan.gov/vote.
Winfrey was not among a group of 74 clerks across the state that sent a letter to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson with concerns about the cost of implementing new election procedures required by the legal changes. In the letter, the clerks said a requirement to contact voters who hadn’t selected whether to use a Republican or Democratic ballot for the primary created tremendous costs.
Benson, a Detroit resident, voted Saturday at Northwest Activities Center.
Winfrey said she understands how smaller municipalities don’t have the resources to implement new procedures, but Detroit is used to doing more with less.
“I have a make-it-happen spirit,” Winfrey said.
Voter options
Michigan voters don’t have to register with a political party but must select a ballot for either the Republican or Democratic primary. Choosing one party’s ballot does not prevent a voter from supporting the other party in future elections.
Biden is running for the Democratic nomination. U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., and author Marianne Williamson are also on the ballot, though they have already suspended their campaigns.
Former President Donald Trump is running for the Republican nomination against former South Carolina Gov. and Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and businessman Ryan Binkley.
Several Republicans remain on the ballot despite suspending their campaigns, including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
Winfrey said her office is also keeping an ear open for any attempts to intimidate or misinform voters. Robocalls using artificial intelligence to trick voters are one concern Benson expressed to Detroit City Council members earlier this year.
New Hampshire’s Attorney General announced a criminal investigation into a company that used an AI robocall to impersonate Biden and told Democrats not to vote. Michigan is part of a national task force coordinating efforts to prevent similar scams.
Winfrey said Detroiters are encouraged to call her office at (313) 876-0190 to report attempts to misinform voters.
