Jocelyn Benson: 2.6 million voters with absentee ballots can be confident they will be counted

Posted: Oct 6, 2020 / 12:24 PM EDT / Updated: Oct 6, 2020 / 12:24 PM EDT

FILE – Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson speaks March 5, 2020 at a news conference in Lansing, Mich. Benson said her office will mail postcards telling 4.4 million registered voters that they can vote from home in November’s presidential election, and it will spend $2 million to reimburse local governments that provide pre-paid postage on absentee ballot return envelopes. (AP Photo/David Eggert, File)

LANSING, Mich. (WJMN) – On Tuesday, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson called on the more than 2.6 million Michigan voters who have already been issued absentee ballots to submit them as soon as possible.

“Voters with ballots should fill them out, sign the back of the envelope, and submit them through the mail or by hand-delivering them to their clerk’s office or ballot drop box as soon as possible,” said Benson. “Michigan’s absentee voting system is time-tested and secure, and voters can be confident that all absentee ballots received by the deadline and with a matching signature will be counted.”

Voters can find their clerk’s office and drop box locations and hours here. At the same site, they can also track their ballot to ensure it was received.

Benson also announced that, in alignment with National Voter Education Week, which began Monday, the Michigan Department of State has launched a statewide multimedia initiative to inform voters how to utilize the options they have to vote. Advertisements are being placed on social media, the internet, television and the back of ATM receipts. Absentee ballot applications will be inserted in dozens of newspapers, and available at Kroger stores statewide.

“Michigan citizens have proven with record-breaking turnout numbers in each of our state’s three successful elections this year that they want to vote,” said Benson. “It is my responsibility to ensure they know their options to do so safely and securely from home, early at their local clerk’s office, or at their polling place on Election Day.”

A breakdown by jurisdiction of absentee ballot requests is available here.

“It is common for voters to receive many mailings, text messages and advertisements ahead of a presidential election,” said Benson. “While this is no reason for alarm, I encourage voters to be vigilant consumers of election information, and to seek out trusted sources of accurate information, including our office, their local clerk’s office, and the dozens of nonpartisan organizations we are partnering with across the state.”