Over 670k Michigan voters and counting: Voting absentee and other options

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - We are roughly three weeks away from the Nov. 5 election. If you can't make it to early voting or the polls on election day, there's still time to request an absentee ballot.

Hundreds of thousands of Michiganders have already cast their absentee ballots, and now local clerks are stressing the number of different ways you can exercise your right to vote.

Absentee ballots provide a lot of flexibility, but local clerks shared that even if a ballot isn't immediately returned it doesn't mean a vote won't be cast.

"The real measure of turnout is going to be after the election and I know that people are excited and engaged and ready to vote," said Ingham County Clerk, Barb Bryum, sharing her thoughts on absentee ballot turnout in the state.

As of Oct 15, over two million Michiganders have requested ballots with over 670,000 being returned. During the 2020 general election, Michigan saw a higher absentee turnout with over 970,000 ballots.

"That's not a fair comparison because in 2020, if you recall, we were in the middle of a pandemic and people were opting to vote by absentee ballot to limit contact with other individuals," said Byrum.

In Ingham County over 69,000 ballots have been mailed out with over 28,000 returned. In Lansing, City Clerk Chris Swope says ballot return has been pretty high compared to other cities.

"23,000 issued and we've already got over 40% of those returned so they're coming back pretty quickly," said Swope.

Voting absentee by mail is just one-way Michiganders can participate in the upcoming election. Voters also have the option to vote early or vote on election day. They can also vote in what Swope calls the hybrid.

"You can take that ballot that got mailed to your home and bring it in person to an early voting site or a precinct on election day and you cast that ballot in the tabulator," Swope.

"If you're going to mail it back to your local clerk you better do it today, you better do it quick. Because time is not on our side at this point and we're very close to election day," said Byrum.

There is still time to register at your local clerk's office, by mail, and online. With most municipalities having at least nine days of early voting.

If you would like to see absentee voter turn-out in your area, find it here , along with what's on the ballot .