(WXYZ) — Early voting has begun in Michigan, with millions expected to use absentee ballots to cast their votes before election day on November 3rd.
Voting begins in Michigan for November election, and runs for 40 days
Local clerks began mailing absentee ballots today and the Secretary of State says more than 2.3 million registered voters have requested them.
Those absentee ballots are also available at your local clerk's office, and you can vote with them now.
Plymouth Township Clerk Jerry Vorva is joining us in our 7 UpFront segment to talk about the early voting.
You can see our entire interview in the video player above.
Vorva says they've already received applications for over 12,000 absentee ballots, double what they experienced in 2016. He thinks they will receive 14-15,000 applications for the entire cycle, which will be 3 times what they received in 2016.
Vorva says they have invested in new technology, which he hopes will help them process most of the ballot in 24 hours. Vorva also says he expects court challenges for ballots postmarked by election day, but received afterward. At the present time, those ballots will be counted even if they arrive after the polls close.
Vorva also says being able to open and start processing the ballots will help. A bill expected to be signed by Governor Whitmer allows clerks to open absentee ballots and remove them from their envelopes on the Monday before election day. However, they cannot be counted until after the polls close.
