How to Vote in Michigan’s Elections

Detroit's mayor, among other offices, is up for election in Michigan in 2025. The primaries will be held on Tuesday, August 5, and the general election is on Tuesday, November 4. Below are some key dates for the upcoming primaries. For more information, visit the City of Detroit’s election department web page.

• Monday, July 21: Deadline to register to vote online or by mail 
• Tuesday, August 5: Deadline to register to vote in person at your city or township clerk’s office, by 8 p.m. 
  

• Saturday, July 26, through Sunday, August 3: Early voting available
• Tuesday, August 5: Election Day. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. 
  

• Friday, August 1: Deadline to submit an absentee ballot application online, by mail (received) or by dropbox, by 5 p.m. The secretary of state, however, recommends submitting an application at least 15 days before Election Day—which is Monday, July 21—to ensure there is enough time to receive and return your absentee ballot.  
• Monday, August 4: Deadline to submit an absentee ballot application in person at your local voting clerk’s office, by 4 p.m. 
• Tuesday, August 5: Deadline for your local voting clerk’s office to receive your completed absentee ballot, by 8 p.m. 
• Tuesday, August 5: Deadline for voters newly registering and voters updating their registration with a new address, to request and complete an absentee ballot at their local voting clerk’s office, by 8 p.m. 
  

Sarah Rice/Getty Images

Laws passed in 2023 made several changes to state election law. Among them:

• Allowing at least nine days of early voting for statewide and federal elections. 
• Eliminating a prohibition on hiring transportation to bring voters to polling places. 
• Providing state funding for drop boxes and prepaid return envelopes for absentee ballots. 
• Expanding the list of acceptable photo IDs. 

In March 2024, a federal court approved a new map that altered the boundaries of 15 Detroit-area state House legislative districts.

• Online: If you have a valid Michigan driver’s license or state ID, you can use the state’s voter registration portal to register.  
  
• By mail: Print a voter registration form, complete it and mail it to your city or township clerk’s office. You also can get a form at your clerk’s office, a Michigan Department of State branch office or a state public assistance agency, or pick one up during a voter registration drive. 
  
• In person: Register at your city or township clerk’s office and bring an acceptable form of ID that proves residency, such as a Michigan driver’s license, state ID card or a paycheck. Voter registration is also offered when you complete a transaction at a secretary of state’s self-service station.  
  

Online, by-mail and in-person registration options are available up to 15 days before Election Day. Within 14 days of Election Day, voters may only register in person at their city or township clerk’s office.

Eligible citizens will be registered to vote automatically when they complete a Michigan driver’s license or ID transaction, unless they opt out.

Register to vote until 8 p.m. on Election Day at your city or township clerk’s office. Show proof of residency, such as a driver’s license or utility bill.

You can check your registration status here.

Michigan voters do not register by party affiliation. Any voter may participate in the primary election of the party of their choice — but they can only participate in one.

Any registered voter can request a no-excuse absentee ballot. You can apply:

• Online: Fill out an absentee ballot application on the Michigan secretary of state’s website. 
• By mail: Download, print and complete an application from the state’s voter information portal. Send it to your city or township clerk’s office or call your clerk’s office to request an application be mailed. 
• In person: Visit your city or township clerk’s office to complete an application.  

The deadline to request an absentee ballot online and by mail (application received, not postmarked) is 5 p.m. the Friday before Election Day. The deadline to request one in person is 4 p.m. the Monday before Election Day, unless you are registering to vote or changing your address, in which case you can request and complete an absentee ballot at your local city or township clerk’s office until 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Return completed ballots:

• By mail: Sign and seal your completed ballot envelope with the ballot inside and mail it to your city or township clerk’s office. If you’re returning your ballot within two weeks of Election Day, officials recommend hand-delivering your completed ballot or filling out the application in person at your city or township clerk’s office to avoid potential postal delays. 
• In person: Return your completed ballot during operating hours to your city or township clerk’s office, early voting location, or polling precinct on Election Day. Note that voters registered in Detroit do not have the option of returning absentee ballots to their polling precinct. 
• Drop box: Insert your completed and signed absentee ballot into a drop box in your city or township. 

You can find your voting locations or track the status of your absentee ballot on the state’s voter information portal.

Election officials must receive ballots by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Military and overseas ballots postmarked by Election Day will be counted if they are received up to six days after an election.

You may return someone else’s ballot if you are an immediate family member or live in their household, are a mail carrier or an authorized election official.

In the event of an emergency, such as an unexpected illness or death in the family, you may be able to request an emergency absentee ballot by contacting your city or township clerk’s office before 4 p.m. on Election Day.

You will have at least nine consecutive days, ending the Sunday before Election Day — and up to 28 days, depending on where you live — to vote in person before all statewide and federal elections. For local elections, early voting is available at the discretion of each city or township voting clerk.

Early voting locations become available on the state’s voter information portal up to 60 days prior to Election Day.

You also can vote early and in person by going to your city or township clerk’s office and filling out an absentee ballot.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters who are in line at their polling location by 8 p.m. on Election Day will be able to vote.

Use the state's voter information portal to find your polling place.

Sample ballots will be available on the secretary of state’s website.

An acceptable form of photo ID, such as a Michigan driver’s license or U.S. passport, is required. If you don’t have ID, you can sign an affidavit at the polls before voting.

Voters with disabilities can vote at home or in person by applying for a standard absentee voter ballot or an accessible voter ballot.

Inside the polling location, at least one voting station will be adapted to allow a person to vote while seated. All voters have access to a Voter Assist Terminal in all polling places. Voters can mark their ballots using a touch screen through a Voter Assist Terminal, which marks the ballot but does not tally the votes. Once the ballot is marked, it is counted in the same way as other ballots.

Voters who need assistance filling out a ballot can receive help from another person, as long as that person is not the voter’s employer or union official. Get more information at the secretary of state’s website.

Voters with disabilities can contact the Michigan Bureau of Elections Ombudsperson for Accessible Elections for help as well.

Voters who have difficulty reading or writing, are visually impaired or have a physical disability that would interfere with the voting process may apply for an accessible electronic absentee ballot, which can be completed electronically, printed and returned to the clerk. To apply online for an accessible electronic absentee ballot, complete this form.

Voters who live in nursing homes or long-term care facilities can apply for absentee ballots.


Editor’s note: This guide was originally published Jan. 3, 2024, and has been updated with new information about voting in the 2025 elections.

Maura Kelly Lannan is a former writer, editor and producer for AARP who covers federal and state policy. She has worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, the Chicago Tribune and the Waterbury, Connecticut, Republican-American. She also has written for Bloomberg Government, The Boston Globe and other publications. 

Emily Paulin is a reporter for AARP covering nursing homes, health care, and federal and state policy. Her work has also appeared in Broadsheet, an Australian lifestyle publication.

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