To quote a certain former VP, this is a big [freaking] deal!
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Tuesday all of Michigan's 7.7 million registered voters will be mailed absentee ballot applications so they can take part in elections in August and November without the risk of in-person voting if they choose to do so.
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“By mailing applications we have ensured that no Michigander has to choose between their health and their right to vote,” Benson said. She noted that in 50 local elections held across the state on May 5, turnout was up significantly from other years and that the vast majority of voters cast absentee ballots by mail or through a drop box.
The application has two things that could transform Michigan elections both this year and beyond.
First, voters may apply for absentee ballots for both the August 4 primary and the November 3 general election using one form. Turnout in August primaries usually ranges between 15% and 25%, although the 2018 gubernatorial race saw turnout to a record 28.2%.
Second, the application has a permanent absentee check-off feature. Most communities automatically mail absentee ballot applications (not the ballots themselves) to voters who are on a “permanent absentee” list. The new application lets voters check off a box to ask their city or township clerk to put them on this list. That means that thousands of people who weren’t on “permanent absentee” lists before will now be on their lists. That could fundamentally change the electorates of future elections, including municipal and local proposal elections, which often see less than 15% turnout. That could also be a boon to Democrats in 2022, minimizing a possible “midterm dropoff” during a Biden presidency.
Until 2018, Michiganders could only vote absentee if you declared one of six possible reasons to do so, such as age, disability, or being out of town. That year, however, Michigan voters overwhelmingly passed a sweeping election reform proposal that implemented “no-reason” (or, as I call it, “no-excuse”) absentee voting, among other major voting reforms. The Michigan Democratic Party has been working diligently to educate voters about their new rights. Benson’s announcement today will ensure that more voters take advantage of these rights.
Michigan has many important elections on the ballot this year. Not only are we a must-win state for Joe Biden, but we also have a key Senate race and no less than four competitive US House races (two Democratic holds and two potential flips). We’re four seats away from winning back control of the state House of Representatives. We’ll also control the state Supreme Court if we can re-elect Chief Justice Bridget Mary McCormack and elect Elizabeth Welch. And then there are the countless county, township, city, village, and education positions on ballots throughout Michigan.
Benson’s actions could transform not only the electorate, but also the makeup of elected bodies throughout Michigan.
