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Answers to frequent Michigan absentee ballot questions

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Answers to frequent Michigan absentee ballot questions


Michigan’s clerks are set Thursday to start sending absentee ballots to voters for the Nov. 5 election, a form of voting that became popular in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and is available to all registered voters in the state.

Under a constitutional amendment approved by state voters in 2018, registered voters can request an absentee ballot ahead of time for any reason. In the past, such ballots were limited to registered voters with certain qualifications, such as people 60 years and older or residents who were going to be out of town on Election Day.

The following are answers to questions about getting, filling out and returning an absentee ballot and other related issues, according to the Michigan Secretary of State’s office.

Requesting an absentee ballot

Voters can apply for an absentee ballot application at their local clerk’s office, by mail or online.

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Voters who apply online must provide the following: their full name; mailing address; a Michigan driver’s license, an ID number or a statement that they don’t have a Michigan driver’s license or ID; date of birth; last four digits of their Social Security number; eye color; and an uploaded signature or authorization to use their stored digital signature on file with the Secretary of State’s office.

Subscribers: Michigan absentee voting begins this week. Clerks urge voters to return ballots quickly

When applying by mail, voters must provide their full name, year of birth, address and/or mailing address and a signature of record, which can be the one on their driver’s license or state ID or on a previous voter registration application.

When applying by mail or at a clerk’s office, voters can print ballot applications from the Michigan Department of State website or pick one up at a local clerk’s office. Applications mailed to a voter from their local clerk will include a pre-paid return envelope.

When ballots are sent out

Absentee ballots will be mailed out to applicants and those on the permanent absentee ballot list starting Thursday, Sept. 26. They are available 40 days before every election in Michigan. People who apply later for such a ballot get one mailed to them.

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The deadline to apply to receive a ballot by mail is Nov. 1, the Friday before Election Day. But clerks discourage waiting this late to obtain an absentee ballot because of concerns about the speed of the delivery of mail by the U.S. Postal Service.

When ballots are due

Mailed absentee ballots from all voters, except military and overseas voters, must be received by the voter’s local clerk by 8 p.m. on Election Day or they will not be counted. Clerks are urging voters to mail an absentee ballot at least two weeks before Election Day to avoid potential mailing delays. Military and overseas voter absentee ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received within six days after the election to be counted. Absentee ballots also can be returned in person to the clerk’s office or a drop box by 8 p.m. Election Day.

Tracking applications and ballots

Voters can track the mailing and receipt of their absentee ballot application and of their ballot at Michigan.gov/Vote. Voters can also contact their local clerk’s office with questions about their application or ballot.

Tips for completing the ballot

Voters should complete their absentee ballot by following the instructions included with the ballot. Instructions may differ based on the type of election.

Voters should insert the completed ballot into the secrecy sleeve as instructed, and they need to sign and date the return envelope on the provided space. They should use their signature as shown on their driver’s license, state ID or voter registration application.

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Options for those with a disability

Voters with a disability who require assistance in completing their absentee ballot application can receive help from another person, provided that the person isn’t the voter’s employer, agent of that employer or an officer or agent of a union to which the voter belongs.

Voters with disabilities can also request an accessible absentee ballot by submitting an accessible absentee ballot application online at Michigan.gov/Vote. They can also download an accessible application to vote absentee and submit it to their local clerk’s office by mail, email or in person. Or they can visit their local clerk’s office to request an absentee ballot in person.

Who can return an absentee ballot

Not just the voter is legally allowed to return an individual’s absentee ballot. Others who are permitted to deliver an absentee ballot are a member of the voter’s immediate family who is asked to do so, an individual who lives in the voter’s household who is requested to do so, a mail carrier on duty or an authorized election official in the voter’s jurisdiction.

Michigan makes it a felony for anyone else to have or deliver an absentee ballot.

How to return ballots

Voters can mail their absentee ballot to their local clerk, although clerks are warning that the ballots should be mailed at least two weeks before Nov. 5 to ensure they arrive even if there are delays with the U.S. Postal Service. Voters also can return them in person to the clerk’s office or at a clerk’s drop box location by 8 p.m. Election Day.

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How clerks verify signatures

The Michigan Bureau of Elections trains clerks in signature verification. The clerks review and compare the signature on each absentee ballot with the signature on the return envelope and the voter’s signature on record — which is usually the signature on a driver’s license, state identification or a voter registration application — to confirm its validity. If a clerk decided a signature is invalid, the ballot is rejected and the clerk is required to quickly notify the voter of the rejection.

What happens with returned ballots

Completed and signed absentee ballots are securely stored by local clerks in storage containers approved by the bipartisan county canvassers or election commission.

How to change an absentee vote

In most instances, absentee voters may change their vote on an absentee ballot until 5 p.m. on the second Friday before Election Day, or Oct. 25 if the ballot has not already been tabulated. If voters decide to cast their ballot in person instead of absentee, they may visit their early voting site on Election Day polling place if they haven’t already turned in their absentee ballot. They can submit their completed absentee ballot at the early voting site or Election Day polling place. Or they can “spoil” their absentee ballot and get issued a new ballot.

Getting ballots mailed continually

Michigan voters can choose to be placed on a permanent absentee ballot list, which means their clerk will automatically mail them an absentee ballot for all local, state and federal elections.

asnabes@detroitnews.com

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Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing

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Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing


One of the best college football coaches of all time, Urban Meyer, lent some sympathy to Sherrone Moore — or at least his family — in the wake of the former Michigan head coach’s shocking firing last week. 

“Last night, I said a prayer for that family,’’ Meyer said on “The Triple Option Podcast,” speaking of Moore’s wife and daughters. 

“I mean, you’ve got three little girls,’’ said Meyer, who won a national title at Ohio State a little over a decade ago. “You’ve got a guy that was on top of the road a week ago.”

Urban Meyer reacted to the fallout of Sherrone Moore’s shock firing from Michigan. Getty Images
The former Michigan football coach was fired for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a. staffer. AP

That changed in stunning fashion, as Moore, a married father of three, went from leading the Wolverines to out of a job, fired in Ann Arbor for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

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The situation only worsened when Moore was later arrested after he allegedly broke into the home of the staff member, and during an argument, grabbed butter knives and threatened to kill himself.

Sherrone Moore was charged on Friday with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors. AP

On Friday, he was charged with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors — stalking and breaking and entering.


Here’s the latest on former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore


Even Meyer, who created some controversy of his own during a brief, ill-fated tenure as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars — when he was seen on video in 2021 that showed him dancing suggestively with a woman who was not his wife and was later fired before finishing his lone season in Jacksonville — was stunned by Moore’s downfall.

“They’re up 6-0 on the Buckeyes at home,” Meyer said of Michigan’s early lead against rival Ohio State on Nov. 29. “And then, also, you wake up, and they’re in this situation. Rivalries aside, this is all human element. Now, this is something that, from what you read, that’s some serious stuff that went on. And just, all of a sudden, you start seeing the impact. Forget football. Who cares about football?’’

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Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland

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Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland


COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg had 29 points, a career-best nine assists and eight rebounds, and No. 2 Michigan rallied from a nine-point deficit Saturday night to defeat Maryland 101-83.

Aday Mara scored 18 points for the Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten), who overcame a halftime deficit for the second time this season and the first since they beat TCU on Nov. 14.

Michigan scored 100 points for the fourth time in five games.

Diggy Coit made eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points for the Terrapins (6-5, 0-2), who lost center Pharrel Payne to a right leg injury late in the first half and forward Solomon Washington to ejection after he picked up his second technical foul early in the second half.

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Coit scored nine of Maryland’s first 10 points and 22 before the break, helping to prevent Michigan from opening a lead larger than six in the first half.

The Terps lost Payne, their leading scorer at 18.7 points a game, with 4:36 remaining before halftime. Yet Maryland stretched its lead from one to 50-45 at the midpoint, then expanded it to 56-47 on Elijah Saunders’ 3.

Washington, who had a first-half technical for celebrating a 3 in front of the Michigan bench, was called for a delay-of-game technical just after Saunders’ basket. His departure left the Terps without their two most experienced and imposing interior players.

Lendeborg took advantage, scoring the next eight points. Mara’s dunk with 14 minutes left made it 64-63 and gave the Wolverines the lead for good.

Elliot Cadeau’s layup with 21.2 seconds remaining got the Wolverines to 100 points for the fifth time this season.

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Up next

Michigan hosts La Salle on Dec. 21.

Maryland visits No. 24 Virginia on Dec. 20.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools

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Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools


GRAND RAPIDS, MI – After beginning a direct admittance program at one West Michigan high school in November, Aquinas College has now expanded the program to cover more classrooms.

The guaranteed admission program, first implemented for graduates of West Catholic High School with a 2.0 GPA or above, has now been expanded to Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids and Muskegon Catholic Central High School.

The partnership will apply to students from all three schools entering college in the fall of 2026.

The direct admission program was described by Aquinas College leaders as offering high school students a “clear path to college success” while also continuing to develop partnerships.

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Aquinas College, a private Catholic liberal arts institution located at 1700 Fulton St. E, was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids in 1886.

The college has enrolled 1,262 students during the 2025-26 academic year, and its new student numbers are up, with 419 new students on campus this fall, up from 311 in 2024-25.

The college’s overall enrollment total is just slightly under the approximately 1,300 students Aquinas recorded across its campus in 2023-24, according to a press release sent out in January 2025.

This year’s partnership announcements do not mark Aquinas’ first direct admittance deal.

The college also has a direct admit bachelor’s in nursing partnership with the University of Detroit Mercy, which allows students to take core curriculum courses at Aquinas and nursing classes from Detroit Mercy faculty.

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On Nov. 14, Aquinas announced its direct admittance deal with West Catholic High School.

The school, located at 1801 Bristol Ave. NW, enrolled just over 500 students as of the 2024-25 school year, according to an online school profile.

West Catholic President and CEO Jill Wierzbicki said the initiative simplifies the college application process and offers students a straightforward path to higher education.

On Nov. 20, Aquinas then announced it had also partnered with Grand Rapids’ Catholic Central High School, 319 Sheldon Blvd SE, which enrolls 567 students and is the oldest co-educational diocesan Catholic high school in the nation.

Brian Matzke, vice president for enrollment management, said there’s “no doubt that Aquinas here has had more graduates from Catholic Central than any other school in our history.”

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On Dec. 10, the college announced another partnership deal with Muskegon Catholic Central High School, 1145 W Laketon Ave., which enrolled just under 300 students in 2023-24, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Jerry McDowell, Muskegon Catholic Central president, said both the high school and Aquinas share a “deep commitment to developing the whole student — academically, spiritually, and individually.

“This direct-admit program provides our graduates with an exceptional opportunity to transition confidently into higher education while maintaining the Catholic values that guide their formation,” McDowell said.

Aquinas’ listed price for traditional undergraduate tuition is $41,192, according to senior director of strategic communications Dave DeJonge.

Students are eligible for annual merit scholarships between $15,000-$25,000, depending on their GPA and housing status. Additional scholarships may be available. This applies to all students who are admitted to Aquinas.

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Matzke highlighted the direct admittance program’s easy transition from one West Michigan school to another, with those accepted to Aquinas able to live on campus or commute from home depending on what best fits their needs.

He also said a growing Grand Rapids job market, combined with support from the college’s career center, contributes to a 97% placement rate for graduates.



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