Michigan residents can begin casting absentee ballots for the November election starting on Thursday.
Residents who wish to vote early can visit a clerk’s office, request an absentee ballot, and vote.
Early voting is available until November 2nd, the day before the election.
Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist said uncertainty around whether the post office will deliver ballots on time has led the state to urge residents to vote as early as possible.
“Again it shows you that the difference between Democrats and Republicans could not be more stark,” he said. “We want more people to vote, we want more votes to count, and we want it to be easier to vote, because we think more Michiganders participating in the political process is a good thing.”
In August, more than 6,000 absentee votes were disqualified because they arrived too late to be counted.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has warned that in November the number of votes that go uncounted for arriving late could end up closer to 10,000.
Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist said he supports a recent Court of Claims decision allowing absentee ballots to be counted as long as they are postmarked before election day.
“I welcome the decision from the Court of Claims,” he said. “I think it’s important that people have confidence their votes will be counted if they are postmarked. I think it’s really sad to see Republicans try and intervene in a case that’s going to make more people’s votes get counted. I think that shows you what they think of voters in Michigan.”
Michigan republicans filed a motion on Tuesday to challenge the court of claims decision.
Republicans argue the court’s decision threatens the “integrity” of Michigan’s election.