Editor's note: This story was produced for the ear and designed to be heard. If you're able, WCMU encourages you to listen to the audio version of this story by clicking the LISTEN button above. This transcript was edited for clarity and length.
Emma Brown: You're listening to WCMU, I'm Emma Brown. Michigan has passed several new voting laws in recent years. One of them is early, in-person voting.
So, as the midterms approach, WCMU's Tina Sawyer spoke with Ann Manary, Midland County's director of elections, to give us a refresher about how the process works.
Manary started off by outlining when the early voting period begins.
Ann Manary: Early voting is nine days of voting prior to the election. So, it starts the second Saturday before the election. So, in this case, it would be October 24th is when early voting would start and it runs all the way to November 1st.
Tina Sawyer: Can voters choose their early voting location or are they assigned a specific site like on Election Day?
AM: In Midland County, you can choose.
TS: It varies, is what you say from city to city?
AM: It could. You should always check with your local clerk to find out where early voting is located.
TS: Okay.
AM: Because it could change from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
TS: So, if I were to choose early in-person voting, what will that experience look like compared to like a traditional Election Day?
AM: Really not much different. You would come in just like you would on election day. You would fill out your application to vote. You would produce an ID, a valid ID, to show the election workers and you would then be given a ballot for your jurisdiction that you vote in and you would fill it out in the booth and take it to the tabulator and process it just like an Election Day ballot.
TS: So, for those who prefer voting from home, let's say with the absentee ballot, what is the deadline for the offices to receive those ballots for them to count?
AM: Well, the ballot actually has to be received by the local clerk, and that could either be your city or township clerk by 8 p.m. on Election Night. So, it either has to be in the drop boxes by 8 p.m., or delivered directly to the clerk by 8 p.m.
TS: I see.
AM: Now, the one caveat we do have in Michigan, as well, is that if you were to get a ballot in the mail and you decided that you were close to an early voting site and you wanted to put your ballot to the tabulator yourself, you certainly could go into one of those early voting sites with your absentee ballot completely filled out and you could vote that ballot right there on that day.
TS: What happens if a voter changes their mind? If, like let's say, I already got my absentee ballot, but oh, I decided I want to just vote in person at an early voting site. Can they do that too?
AM: Absolutely. They should make sure to bring that ballot with them and do what we call surrender that ballot. And then they would be issued a new ballot right there at the early voting site. Now, if they forgot it or if they threw it away, we do have a process where they can fill out a form, swearing under oath, that they did either do not have that absentee ballot, never received it, or destroyed it, in order to get a new ballot at early vote.
TS: Okay.
AM: The same thing goes for in the precinct. You can also do that in the precinct. If you were to go to the precinct on Election Day and you were issued an absentee ballot, you would either need to bring it with you, or you would need to fill out a paper that just says that you do not have it in your possession, and that you wish to get another ballot.
TS: And when are all these early and absentee ballots actually counted?
AM: So absentee ballots are counted depending upon your jurisdiction. For example, in the city of Midland, we have an AV counting board. So, that board meets and they're allowed to meet prior to Election Day to start tabulating the ballot. There are no results that are generated at that time, but they are allowed to tabulate them and hold them in the tabulator, until the close of polls Tuesday night at 8 p.m., and then the ballots then are processed and we get vote totals.
TS: Is there anything else you'd like to add that I haven't asked a question about?
AM: Please be patient. November's going to be very busy. Our election workers are doing their best. They're great people and we couldn't do any of this process without them.
EB: That was Midland County's Director of Elections, Ann Manary, speaking with WCMU's Tina Sawyer. Early voting gets underway across most of Michigan this Saturday, Oct. 24.
