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    • When will we see the election results? What to expect in Michigan
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    When will we see the election results? What to expect in Michigan

    Pabio Posted on

    It is Election DayMichigan. Which means we should know the winner of the American presidential race in that battlefield state before bed, right?

    Don’t count on it! Or, it may depend on what time you go to bed.

    Vote in Michigan this year It was kind of a choose-your-own-adventure kind of thing. This was the second presidential election in which every voter had the right to vote by mail, for any reason. It was the first time in a presidential election that voters could vote early in person. And Election Day Tuesdayvoters who have not yet decided have until 8 p.m. local time to go to their polling station. If you’re in line at 8 p.m., you can still vote.

    More: 5 Michigan Counties That Saw the Most Early Voters

    When polls close at 8 p.m. local timeelection officials can begin releasing unofficial election results. Four counties in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are on Central Time, while the rest of the state is on Eastern Time.

    Although results will begin to trickle in when polls close, the outcome of a race may not be clear for some time. It depends on how close the race is and how many voters return their absentee ballots on Election Day. Voters have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to return their absentee ballots to a drop box in their jurisdiction, to their local clerk’s office or to their polling location where they can insert their absentee ballot into the tabulator (Detroit is the only community where voters do not have this form option).

    Endorsements from the Detroit Free Press: Michigan’s U.S. House, Senate and House Picks

    In 2020, the Associated Press – which tracks races across the United States – was unable to call President Joe Biden the winner of Michigan until 5:56 p.m. ET Wednesday, the day after the election of November 3, 2020. The AP called races before all votes are counted, based on an analysis of previously reported votes and other election data. The Free Press relies on calls from the AP.

    In 2020, the AP called the Michigan presidential race for Biden less than 24 hours after the polling stations closed. “So that’s my column,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said, when asked about when voters can expect results this year, during a news conference last Monday. “We know that in 2020, two-thirds of our citizens voted at home and clerks were unable to begin processing those ballots until Election Day, and we also know that this is of our highest turnout ever in state history With all these factors and a global pandemic, we had our results within 24 hours of the polls closing, so based on that, I know. At least we’ll have them by then, right?

    Processing mail-in ballots takes longer than ballots cast in person due to the additional steps involved after a voter returns their mail-in ballot to verify and record the ballot and then prepare for counting.

    In the Election 2020election workers in Michigan’s largest cities could spend 10 a.m. the day before the election, open mail-in ballot return envelopes and verify that the number on the stub attached to the ballot matches the number on the mail-in ballot envelope.

    But this year, a new law allowed many more communities to have up to eight days before Election Day Tuesday to tabulate absentee ballots. It also gave each municipality the opportunity to tabulate absentee ballots during 1 p.m. Monday.

    But a big city in Michigan… Warren – will not begin counting mail-in ballots until Election Day. It is the third largest city in Michigan and a competitive congressional district crosses it from side to side. City election officials will have one day — Election Day — to count all absentee ballots, including those returned before Tuesday.

    In 2020, disinformation experts warned that the interval between polling stations closing and knowing the election result could provide fertile ground for the spread of false narratives and sow doubt about the legitimacy of the electoral process . The same thing could happen this year. As always, voters would do well to verify information before sharing it on social media by scrutinizing the source, seeing if you can find the same information in multiple places, and investigating whether a claim has been verified.

    Contact Clara Hendrickson at [email protected] or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, formerly called Twitter, @clarajanehen.

    Looking to learn more about Michigan’s elections this year? Check out our voter’s guidesubscribe to our election newsletter and feel free to share your thoughts in any way letter to the editor.

    Pabio
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