Michigan

How to vote and when to do it: A Michigan primary primer

Published

2 years ago

February 17, 2024

How to vote and when to do it: A Michigan primary primer

LANSING, MI — Though Tuesday, Feb. 27, is the official date for Michigan’s presidential primary this year, voters statewide have more options than ever for casting ballots ahead of time.

From who’s on ballot to how to cast one, here’s what you need to know about this month’s election.

What’s this election about?

Michiganders will get a chance to cast their votes in the upcoming presidential primary on Tuesday, Feb. 27.

The primary is a closed one, meaning voters must either opt for a ballot comprising solely Democratic or Republican candidates when either at the polls or voting absentee.

Who’s on my ballot?

On the Democratic side, voters can choose from President Joe Biden and U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota.

Marianne Williamson, an author and speaker, will also appear on Michigan’s Democratic primary ballot despite dropping out of the race Feb. 7.

On the Republican side, there will be a slew of names on the ballot come election day, though only two are actually still in the running: former president Donald Trump and ex-U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

As with Williamson, candidates like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will still appear on Michigan’s Republican primary ballot since they dropped out of the race after Michigan’s printing deadline.

So what does that mean for me?

Nothing much will change for Democrats with respect to the primary. That’s to be expected, considering Michigan’s Democratic legislature was the one to push for the new primary date in 2023.

For Republicans, however, the move is a bit more complicated.

When taking to the polls later this month, voters will see little difference from presidential primaries of years past. Behind the scenes, though, the Michigan Republican Party has worked with the Republican National Committee for months to finalize a hybrid caucus and primary plan.

Michigan Republicans’ internal presidential caucus would be tied for fifth in U.S.

A candidate needs to secure at least 1,215 delegates nationally to secure the Republican Party’s nomination. In Michigan, 55 of those delegates are up for grabs.

With the dual system implemented in 2024 – done to avoid Michigan Republicans being penalized for holding a primary prior to March 1, which violates RNC rules –16 of those 55 delegates will be awarded through a proportional system based on the Feb. 27 results. In order to win a delegate in the February election, a candidate will need to win at least 12.5% of the vote.

The remaining 39 delegates would then be allocated in closed caucuses, held in each of Michigan’s 13 congressional district Republican parties. The RNC has reportedly approved a plan where officials in each congressional districts will vote how to award three delegates apiece.

Where can I check if I’m registered to vote?

Michiganders can check online with the Department of State to see a number of things, including:

Whether they are registered to vote;
Where their nearest ballot drop boxes are;
Where their polling place is located, if voting in person, and;
Where their local clerk’s office is.

How can I vote?

There are several ways Michiganders can cast their ballots later this month.

No reason absentee: Since 2018, Michiganders have been able to vote absentee without needing a reason to do so. Registered voters can request an absentee ballot online through the state’s online absentee voter request form. The last day to do so is prior to 5 p.m. the Friday before an election.

Forms to request an absentee ballot – which must be returned to your local clerk either in person or by mail to get an absentee ballot – are available to download online in English, Arabic, Bengali, Farsi, Spanish and in large print format. You can also call your city or township clerk and ask that an application for an absentee ballot be mailed to you if unable to print one.

For those who have already requested an absentee ballot, the state began mailing out those forms Jan. 18. Should you have already mailed yours back in, and are curious if that’s been received yet, you can check the status of your absentee ballot online.

Voters will have until 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16 to spoil an already mailed absentee ballot, but would need to do so via in-person written request in order to receive a new ballot from their clerk’s office.

It’s recommended to turn in absentee ballots by hand to your local clerk’s office if doing so within two weeks of election day.

Early in-person: Effective Saturday, Feb. 17, voters may vote in-person ahead of the actual primary date. The last day to vote early, according to the Department of State, is Sunday, Feb. 25.

To find out where that’s available to you, click here.

On election day: Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time. You have the right to vote if you are in line by 8 p.m. Click here to figure out where your polling location is.

Why so many options to vote this year?

In 2022, 60% of voters approved Proposal 2, a constitutional amendment to expand voting rights in the state of Michigan.

As part of that amendment, the move:

Recognizes the fundamental right to vote without harassing conduct;
Requires military or overseas ballots to be counted if postmarked by election day;
Allows voters to verify identity with photo identification or signed statement;
Provides the right to a single application to vote absentee in all elections.
Require state-funded absentee-ballot drop boxes, and postage for absentee applications and ballots
Dictates that only election officials may conduct post-election audits;
Requires nine days of early in-person voting;
Allows donations to fund elections, which must be disclosed, and;
Requires canvass boards to certify election results based only on the official records of votes cast.

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Michigan

Michigan football signs former No. 1-ranked running back

Published

4 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Michigan football signs former No. 1-ranked running back

Michigan football moved quickly to help fill its running back room on Thursday, adding the No. 1-ranked rusher in the 2024 recruiting class to the roster.

Taylor Tatum, who spent the last two seasons at Oklahoma, signed with the Wolverines for the 2026 season, The Ann Arbor News/MLive confirmed.

Tatum, listed at 5-foot-10 and 212 pounds, has three seasons of college eligibility remaining.

He appeared in 12 games for the Sooners, most of it during his true-freshman season in 2024. That first season, Tatum rushed for 278 yards and three touchdowns, highlighted by a five-carry, 69-yard game in Oklahoma’s season opener against Temple.

Tatum was hampered by injuries in 2025, appearing in just one game against South Carolina, where he rushed once for negative-1 yard.

A former four-star recruit, Tatum was considered the nation’s No. 1 running back in 2024 out of Longview High School in Texas, where he set the school record for career rushing touchdowns (53). He picked Oklahoma over Ohio State, Alabama, Oregon, USC, among others.

Tatum was also a member of the Oklahoma baseball team, though he didn’t appear in a game in 2025.

The signing comes just a day after Michigan’s leading rusher in 2025, Jordan Marshall, announced his return to the Wolverines. Since the transfer portal opened last Friday, reserve running backs Bryson Kuzdzal and Jasper Parker have entered. Parker has since signed to play at Arkansas next season.

Meanwhile, Michigan awaits a decision from its other star back, Justice Haynes, who’s left the door open to a return to college. A pair of freshmen backs, Savion Hiter and Jonathan Brown, also joined the team this week.

Tony Alford, Michigan’s running backs coach, was one of three assistants retained by new head coach Kyle Whittingham.

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Michigan

Kyle Whittingham knows what Michigan football needs

Published

16 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Kyle Whittingham knows what Michigan football needs

Michigan football is primed to win now, new coach Kyle Whittingham said this week on “The Dan Patrick Show.”

The Wolverines have made far too many headlines off the field, which is why Whittingham told Patrick the organization needs to simply get back to focusing on the reason they’re all together as a team − football.

“The place doesn’t need a rebuild, it needs a reboot of trust and getting rid of the drama and just get back to playing Michigan football without all the distractions,” Whittingham said. “It didn’t come from the players. The players were not involved. It was not some player issue – it was just the peripheral.

“Guys here have a great attitude, I met with everyone of them last week at the bowl site. Quality young men, care about academics, excited to be at Michigan, but they’ve dealt with a lot over the last few years.”

Whittingham, 66, takes over as the 22nd head coach in program history after a pair of scandals rocked the previous two men who held his job.

Jim Harbaugh led the Wolverines from 2015-23 − and left on top by winning a national championship − but also was found to have a lack of institutional control in his program by NCAA investigators after two separate NCAA violations occurred under his watch: impermissible recruiting and illegal sign-stealing.

More recently, Sherrone Moore was fired in scandal after he was found to have had a relationship with a subordinate and was subsequently arrested after he allegedly went to her house and threatened his own life − he was jailed for two nights and charged with felony home invasion, misdemeanor stalking and misdemeanor breaking and entering.

Patrick asked if there was any selling point Whittingham needed to hear specifically from Michigan. Whittingham said when he stepped away from Utah in mid-December there were only a handful of program’s he would have even entertained. He called Michigan “a special place.”

“Needed to hear that Michigan was what I thought it was,” he said. “Hey’re committed to winning here, we do have some challenges with entrance requirements, there is a little bit of a hurdle there, but talk about athletes, resources, tradition − it’s all here at Michigan.”

Whittingham also quipped about the irony of previously being a team that wore red (Utah) whose primary rival wore blue (BYU) to flipping that. It’s also not lost on him that his mentor, Urban Meyer, went 7-0 against Michigan in his tenure in Columbus − Whittingham joked at his opening press conference that Meyer’s name alone might be considered a “four-letter word” in Ann Arbor.

“Blue was our rival at Utah for years,” he said. “Now I’ve got to get used to saying, ‘Go Blue.’”

Whittingham is in the throes of one of the busiest times on the college football calendar. The transfer portal opened for a 15-day window Jan. 2-16, setting off a scramble to both retain players, scout the database and find appropriate fits for the team.

Whittingham has only known his roster and coaches for approximately 10 days – he said while down in Florida he was going to “lock himself” in a room at Schembechler Hall in Ann Arbor to watch film on the players on his roster. He has been able to keep Bryce Underwood, Andrew Marsh, Andrew Babalola, Blake Frazier, Evan Link, Jake Guarnera and Zeke Berry − the last two of whom had put their names in the transfer portal before indicating their return to U-M for 2026.

With money flowing, back-channeling frequent and poaching at an all-time high, Whittingham doesn’t see college football’s current model as something that will last as currently constructed for more than a handful of years.

“It is not sustainable, there’s no question about that,” Whittingham said. “Something’s gotta give. Within a 2- to 4-, 5-year window, you’re going to see a major overhaul of Division I football. I think it’s going to become more of a minor league NFL model. I think you’re gonna see a salary cap, collective bargaining, players as employees.

“I think all that’s coming because we cannot maintain this pace.”

Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.

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Michigan

Michigan Lottery contributions over $1B to K-12 schools for 7th year in a row, state says

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

Michigan Lottery contributions over B to K-12 schools for 7th year in a row, state says

LANSING, MI – The Michigan Lottery’s annual contribution to K-12 education reached more than $1 billion for the seventh time in a row in 2025, according to the state.

The amount at $1.16 billion makes up roughly 5-6% of the state’s School Aid Fund, which has exceeded $20 billion in recent years.

It peaked in 2021 at $1.4 billion, according to the state budget office, marking a 78.4% increase in six years at the time. The reported portion for 2025 marks a slight decrease when compared to the previous five years.

In a release on Wednesday, Jan. 7, the state reported the total Lottery contribution had reached more than $30 billion since it began in 1972 and $8.7 billion within a seven-year span.

“In (2025), Lottery retailers earned more than $300 million in commissions for the sixth straight year,” Acting Lottery Commissioner Joe Froehlich said in a statement. “The support the Lottery provides to public education and to businesses throughout the state is critical and far-reaching.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office utilized Wednesday’s announcement to recap the current state investment in K-12 schools based on the budget deal lawmakers green-lit in October three months after the current fiscal year was already underway.

That includes a 4.6% hike to $10,050 per student, $201.6 million to maintain a free universal meals program that Whitmer said saves “parents almost $1,000 a year per kid,” and a series of investments geared toward boosting literacy skills.

“This year’s lottery contributions will help build on that progress and make a difference for students, educators and schools across Michigan,” the governor said in a statement.

Other budget highlights included hundreds of millions in grants to reduce class sizes and school infrastructure, as well as for career-technical education and English-language learners.

Additionally, there was another $258.7 million boost to $1.3 billion for at-risk student supports and $321 million to support mental health and school safety initiatives ― the latter including a waiver requirement that spurred litigation from schools against the state in late 2025.

According to the Michigan Lottery, participating retailers earned more than $330 million in commissions for the 2025 fiscal year. Since 2019, when the Lottery’s streak of billion-dollar contributions to the School Aid Fund began, the state reported more than $2.3 billion in commissions.

Lottery products are sold at more than 10,000 locations across the state, and over 700 retailers sold $1 million or more last year in Lottery games.

Michigan residents took home more than $2.8 billion in prizes in 2025 and over $58 billion since the Lottery began.

According to the state, roughly 25 cents went to the School Aid Fund from every dollar spent on a Michigan Lottery Ticket, while 63 cents went to players as prizes, 9 cents to vendor commissions and 3 cents to the Lottery’s operations.

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