Michganders break midterm early vote records

Michiganders cast 2,313,165 ballots before Election Day — 31.2% of the state's 7,420,172 active registered voters, according to the Secretary of State's office.

• Absentee: 1,569,715 returned ballots.
• In person: 743,450 ballots over the nine-day window, Oct. 24–Nov. 1.

Early voting ran about 409,000 ballots ahead of 2022 — though 2022 had no statewide in-person early voting, so the comparison is imperfect.

The busiest single day of in-person early voting was Sunday, Nov. 1: 114,420 ballots.

NBC News's modeled estimate counted 2,355,825 mail and early in-person votes by Nov. 3, roughly 28% of the state's 8.37 million total registered voters.

The age gap

• Voters over 65: 47% of everyone who voted early.
• Ages 41 to 65: 48% of in-person early voters.

By early November, more than 47% of voters over 65 had already cast a ballot, compared with 5.9% of voters 18 to 25 — the lowest of any age group.

Where the votes came from

Michigan does not collect race in its voter file, so there is no official statewide racial breakdown; race-specific figures are modeled estimates.

NPR reported strong early participation from Black voters, young people, and voters of color.

TargetSmart, through NBC News, estimated Michigan's early electorate as of Nov. 3 at 51% registered Democrats, 39% registered Republicans, and 10% other.

In Detroit, 94,467 ballots had been cast by Monday morning, Nov. 2 — 24,150 early in-person and 70,317 returned absentee — a 22.8% turnout. "2,305 people voted across the city's eight early-voting centers on opening day, establishing a new city record," said Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey — beating the 1,897 cast in 2024. City officials project overall turnout of 40% to 45%, roughly 180,000 to 205,000 ballots.

In Genesee County, more than 4,700 in-person early ballots were cast across 28 sites on opening weekend, and more than 46,000 voters had voted early or by mail by late October.

What's left

Detroit is about halfway to its projected 180,000 to 205,000 ballots.

The city kept two early-voting locations open an extra day, Monday, Nov. 2, beyond the statewide window.

NPR cautions that early-vote patterns don't reliably predict final results — the early count shows who has voted so far, not who will vote when polls close tonight.

How to vote today

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today, Nov. 3. Anyone in line by 8 p.m. may still vote.

No photo ID? Voters without one can sign an affidavit and vote.

Not registered? Do it at your local clerk's office today — registration is open until 8 p.m.