Absentee ballots for the November 5 election will be mailed out to voters across Michigan this Thursday.

Van Buren County Clerk Suzie Roehm tells us in some jurisdictions, local clerks are reporting nearly half of voters are requesting absentee ballots.

If you want to vote absentee, which anyone can now do without stating a reason, you do have to make sure to ask for a ballot. Roehm says voting absentee in one election doesn’t automatically sign you up to vote absentee in all elections.

“They can ask to be put on the permanent ballot list, and what the permanent ballot list does is you will automatically be sent a ballot for every election. But the voter does have to specifically check that box to be put on the permanent ballot list.”

Once you receive your absentee ballot, it must be turned into your local clerk’s office by the close of voting on Election Day. If it gets close to that day and you still haven’t mailed in your ballot, Roehm says there are ways to make sure it gets counted.

“They can actually vote that absentee ballot in person. So, if they choose to vote that ballot in person, they can vote it at the early voting site, or they can vote it at their local polling location on election day.”

When mailing in an absentee ballot, make sure to seal and sign the return envelope. A failure to sign it will prompt the clerk to call you to verify the ballot is yours.

Roehm says local clerks can start to pre-process absentee ballots the day before Election Day, but they can’t count them until the close of voting on the 5th. She notes early in-person voting will begin on October 26. Check your county clerk’s website to find out more about that.

Roehm is expecting high turnout for this election, so be patient while waiting for the results of local races.