Michigan voters turned out in record numbers for the third straight election cycle Tuesday, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said during a press conference Wednesday morning.
Voter turnout topped 5.5 million, about the same as it was for the 2020 presidential election. Over 2.2 million Michiganders voted absentee, 1.2 million voted early in-person and more than 2 million showed up at the polls on Tuesday.
“Michiganders were able to cast their ballots safely, securely and conveniently. As in past elections, we saw thousands of new voters register and vote on Election Day, nearly 22,000 overall, and many were in East Lansing, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and here in Detroit,” Benson said.
“These numbers were the result of voter education efforts and programs we implemented, along with partners in the business community, the faith community and many others throughout the state who helped every citizen have rightly placed faith in participating in our elections.”
The state is still waiting for overseas ballots to be returned before releasing final numbers. As long as the ballots are postmarked by Election Day and received by Tuesday, they will be counted.
Election Day went smoothly for most municipalities with little disruption to voting, despite Michigan being the target of bogus threats and misinformation.
Benson said Washtenaw, Wayne, Genesee and Saginaw counties received non-credible bomb threats, which the Federal Bureau of Investigation said appeared to originate from Russian email domains.
“Election integrity is among the FBI’s highest priorities. We will continue to work closely with our state and local law enforcement partners to respond to any threats to our elections and to protect our communities as Americans exercise their right to vote,” according to a Tuesday statement by the agency.
President-elect Donald Trump made unsubstantiated claims on his social media platform, Truth Social, that there was heavy law enforcement in Detroit and Philadelphia on Election Day, but according to the Associated Press, Detroit Police reported no issues at Huntington Place, where votes were being counted.
“Those false claims were easily debunked, and I’m grateful to so many of our partners for helping us ensure trusted information ruled the day,” Benson said.
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