Michigan’s presidential primary was the first time that communities in the state had the ability to count absentee ballots days before the Tuesday election. Absentee voting is a popular way to participate in Michigan since eligibility rules were eased in 2018. But it took another change in law to give local clerks more time to handle the flood of envelopes. Many cities and townships now can run absentee ballots through tabulator machines starting eight days before the election. More than 1.2 million absentee ballots were issued to Michigan voters.
