The Short Answer Is No, With One Big Exception
For the vast majority of Michigan voters, the rule is simple and strict: your absentee ballot must be received by your local city or township clerk by 8 p.m. on Election Day. It doesn't matter when the ballot is postmarked; if it arrives in the clerk's office at 8:01 p.m. or the day after, it will not be counted. This 'received by' deadline is a critical piece of information for every voter choosing to vote by mail. While there was a temporary court ruling in 2020 that allowed for an extension due to the pandemic, that ruling was overturned and the 8 p.m. Election Day deadline was reinstated.
The Exception: Military and Overseas Voters
The major exception to this rule applies to Michiganders covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). This includes active-duty
military members and their families, as well as other U.S. citizens living abroad. For these voters, Michigan law allows their ballots to be counted if they are postmarked on or before Election Day and received by their local clerk within six days after the election. This grace period was solidified by the passage of Proposal 2 in 2022, which added protections for military and overseas ballots into the state constitution. This ensures that service members and other citizens abroad aren't disenfranchised due to slower international mail delivery.
Why the Strict 'Received By' Deadline?
The 8 p.m. deadline for most voters is designed to ensure a timely and secure election certification process. Having a firm cutoff prevents the logistical challenge of waiting for an unknown number of ballots to trickle in through the mail for days after the election has concluded. It provides certainty for election officials, who can then begin the final stages of tabulating all validly cast ballots. While states like Pennsylvania and others have different rules that allow for counting ballots postmarked by Election Day, Michigan's law prioritizes a definitive closing time for ballot submission. This has been the state's standard procedure, aside from the temporary legal challenges in 2020.
How to Make Sure Your Ballot Counts
Given the strict deadline, voters have several reliable options to ensure their vote is counted. While you can use the mail, election officials strongly advise against it within the last two weeks before an election due to potential postal delays. Instead, the most secure methods are returning your ballot in person to your local clerk's office or using an official, secure ballot drop box. Thanks to Proposal 2 in 2022, every jurisdiction is required to have at least one drop box, which are available 24/7 for the 40 days leading up to the election until 8 p.m. on Election Day. Voters can also now choose to sign up for a permanent mail ballot list to automatically receive their ballot for every election, and even track its status online.
