MASON, Mich. — Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum (D-Onondaga) announced today that she has been tracking absent voter ballots throughout Ingham County and that, as of 2:00pm on July 28, 2020, there were 51.70% of ballots requested that have already been turned in to their local clerks.
“Overall, I am very pleased that so many voters have chosen to vote safely from the comfort of their own homes,” Byrum stated. “We have 12,000 more absent voter ballots cast than were cast via absent ballot in total in 2018. We also have 2.5 times as many absent ballots requested that are in the hands of voters compared to the 2018 August Primary Election. My concern, now, is that those voters who have not yet turned in their voted ballots may need to hurry, if they are to arrive in time.”
The Secretary of State has indicated that mail is starting to slow down in Michigan and for that reason Clerk Byrum urges voters to mail their ballots in immediately, or to drop them in their local clerk’s drop box. To determine whether your local clerk has a drop box, please visit here [michigan.gov].
“Local clerks are also required by state law to be open for 8 hours this weekend to give voters who work during the week an opportunity to request and deliver absentee ballots in person,” said Byrum. “If voters choose to mail their ballots instead, I am also recommending that voters use two stamps due to the weight of the ballot.”
Clerk Byrum has recommended that everyone who is able vote by mail this election, given the outbreak of COVID-19. Polling locations will still be open on August 4, 2020 between 7:00am and 8:00pm, and election workers will be outfitted with PPE, sanitizer, and other safety supplies. Per Governor Whitmer’s Executive Order, masks are not required in order to vote, but Clerk Byrum urged all voters to mask up nonetheless.
“Voters must be allowed to vote, mask or not,” she said. “I recommend that everyone who will be in an enclosed area, like a polling location, do the safe thing and wear a mask. It is simply the safe and responsible thing to do.”
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