Updates About Elections

For the first time in almost 40 years, the Michigan State House of Representatives, Senate, and Executive Branch will all be controlled by the Democratic Party. Governor Gretchen Whitmer will be reelected for another four-year term after beating her Republican opponent Tudor Dixon. Whitmer won with almost 55% of the vote. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Attorney General Dana Nessel also won their reelections against Republicans Kristina Karamo and Matt DePerno, respectively.

In the House, Democrats will have the majority for the first time in 12 years, holding 56 seats. Republicans will hold 54 seats in the chamber. Senate Democrats will have a 20 to 18 majority, controlling the chamber for the first time in 38 years.

Democrats also saw major wins in all statewide education posts. This includes the State Board of Education, Michigan State University Board of Trustees, University of Michigan, and Wayne State University.

Michigan set a new record in voter turnout for a midterm election with 4.4 million voters showing up to the polls on November 8. Of this total, 1.8 million were absentee voters. Michigan’s previous record was 4.3 million voters that showed up in the 2018 midterm elections.

According to multiple political pundits, the high voter turnout was in part due to Proposal Three, an initiative that would enshrine abortion rights in Michigan’s constitution. Prop Three passed with 55 percent of the vote. Proposal One, which creates new term limits and financial disclosure requirements, and Proposal Two, which enshrines the right to vote, among other things, passed with 65 percent and 58 percent of the vote, respectively.

Election results are not yet official as county boards have until November 22 to verify election results. Similarly, the Board of State Canvassers has until November 28 to certify results.

Michigan’s November 8 General Election is quickly approaching, and the Secretary of State is urging the approximately one million voters that requested absentee ballots, but have not yet voted, to hand-deliver their ballots to the clerk’s office or ballot box to avoid postal delays. Ballots must be received by the clerk no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day. Clerk’s offices and ballot box locations can be found here.

Residents not yet registered to vote can do so in person at a clerk’s office, since online and mail registration has closed. Michiganders also have the ability to register to vote at the time of voting on November 8.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Election Day, and voters who are in line by 8 p.m. but have not yet cast their ballot are encouraged to wait. If you are interested in working on election day as a poll worker, voters are encouraged to apply here.

On September 28, one of the final session days ahead of the November 8 election, the Michigan State Legislature finalized a $1 billion supplemental appropriation bill, most of which would additional funding to the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve (SOAR) Fund for various economic development projects.

In light of the negotiations, Representative Thomas Albert (R-Lowell) announced during the House Appropriations committee meeting that he would be resigning as chair due to his concerns with approving additional spending. Albert, who again addressed the chamber during his no-vote explanation, said he could not support the spending during a “period of economic uncertainty”. Representative Mary Whiteford (R-Casco Township) will serve as the Appropriations Chair for the remainder of the 2021-22 legislative session.

Following an agreement struck between the Whitmer administration, local clerks and lawmakers, the Michigan State Legislature also took up a package of bills related to election security and preprocessing of absentee ballots. All bills in the package passed out of both chambers and now head to the desk of Governor Gretchen Whitmer. House Bill 4491 would allow county clerks to remove deceased individuals from the qualified voter file as well as allow absentee ballot preprocessing up to two days before the election. Currently, Michigan only allows preprocessing 24 hours prior to an election and only in municipalities of at least 1,500 voters. House Bill 6071 would increase access to polling locations. Senate Bill 8 defines “verified electronic signature” for military personnel, while SB 311 allows the electronic return of ballots for military voters.

The legislation is expected to be signed into law and be in effect for the upcoming November general election.