Over 927K Michigan voters cast ballots ahead of Michigan Presidential Primary

Read the full article on the Up North Live website here.

Katie Sergent - February 26, 2024

DETROIT, Mich. — On the eve of Michigan's 2024 presidential primary, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson gave one last update on early in-person voting in Detroit.

As of Monday, about 934,478 Michigan voters were reported to have cast their votes ahead of Tuesday's primary, according to Benson.

"It shows that Michigan voters, when they have options to vote, they embrace those options," Benson said. "Citizens have overwhelmingly supported efforts to allow no-reason absentee voting, and to require at least nine days of early in-person voting for state and federal elections."

Benson's sentiment was echoed by Promote the Vote Michigan Executive Director Micheal Davis Jr., who said about 80,000 Michiganders have taken advantage of early voting.

"We hope to see even more Michigan voters using this convenient option in our upcoming elections," Davis Jr. said. "For that reason, Promote the Vote is actively working with our coalition partners to call, text, and talk to eligible voters and community members across the state."

For Canton Township Clerk Michael Siegrist, voters in his jurisdiction were enthusiastic about early voting, and were "excited" to go in and vote ahead of time.

"I can tell you that I've never seen this level of excitement in voters as they go into the early voting site and cast their ballot for the first time," Siegrist said.

However, despite positive response to the inaugural effort, Michigan's total turnout for the 2024 presidential primary so far remains lower than 2020's total.

"For a presidential primary, where each major party has a candidate with a commanding lead, we're still approaching half of the total turnout before election day," Benson said. "For the entire 2020 presidential primary, when in that primary, nearly 2.4 million citizens overall participated and voted."

Sunday was the last day for Michiganders to participate in the state's inaugural early voting period, which allowed voters to cast their ballots nine days ahead of the Feb. 27 primary.

Although it was the final day, it garnered the biggest turnout with just over 11,000 voters participating.

On the other hand, about 1.4 million voters requested to vote absentee, according to the secretary of state's office.

News Channel 3 attended and livestreamed Monday's conference within this article and on social media starting at 10:30 a.m.