GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Michigan's top election official says to expect later-than-typical results from next week's presidential primary because of a surge of absentee ballots and other factors.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Thursday that election is the first major statewide contest since voters in 2018 authorized no-reason absentee voting and same-day voter registration.
Absentee ballot requests are up 80% compared to the 2016 presidential primary.
As of Thursday morning, nearly 16,000 absentee ballots had been scratched, or “spoiled. It is a process which voters can change their preference and start over after several Democratic candidates dropped out of the race.
