Last February, the governor signed legislation that moved the presidential primary from the second Tuesday in March to February 27, 2024, and then to the fourth Tuesday in February every four years thereafter. 

However, that legislation did not receive immediate effect, at that time leaving it unclear as to when the presidential primary would take place.  

Additionally, Proposal 2022-2, passed by voters in November 2022, added early voting and other new election policies to the Michigan Constitution. Eight bills implementing those procedures were signed by the governor in July 2023 but also did not receive immediate effect.  

The lack of immediate effect for these items and other elections-related measures meant that they would not take effect until 90 days had passed from the date of the legislature’s adjournment for the year (also known as “sine die” adjournment). 

The legislature adjourned sine die on November 14. This means that the 2024 Presidential Primary will take place February 27, 2024, and the provisions in the Proposal 2022-2 package will take effect February 13, 2024.  

Before adjourning, the legislature passed a Proposal 2022-2 “clean-up bill” that addresses some concerns that have arisen since the passage of the early voting bill, Public Act 81 of 2023/Senate Bill 367. Once it is signed by the governor, House Bill 4695 will do all of the following:  

Currently, if a voter registers 14 days or fewer before an election without a driver’s license/state ID to prove residency, or if the voter doesn’t have ID for election purposes, the voter’s ballot is prepared as a challenged ballot. The bill would remove this “challenged ballot” provision. (Takes effect February 13, 2024.) 

Precinct size (Senate Bills 572 and 573) 

PA 88 (HB 4702), which was part of the Prop 2 package, increased precinct size to 5,000, but did not receive immediate effect (meaning it would have taken effect 91 days after the legislature adjourns for the year, or too late to redraw precincts). SBs 572 and 573 bills set the maximum precinct size at 4,999, and did receive immediate effect, meaning they will take effect when the governor signs them. Because the deadline to finalize early voting sites is 60 days before an election, or December 29, the deadline to redraw precincts will also be on that date.   

Precinct inspector app (Senate Bill 385) 

Allows clerks to accept election inspector applications through an online portal or other electronic means. (Takes effect 91 days after it is signed by the governor.) 

Michigan Election Law requires that voters be notified of any polling place changes no later than 60 days before Election Day. For the 2024 Presidential Primary, the deadline to notify voters of a polling place change is December 29.  

In light of the increased precinct size limits and the impact this will have on the QVF, ballot programming, and the processing of absentee ballot applications, the Bureau asks that precinct boundary changes be submitted ASAP by jurisdictions wishing to redraw their boundaries in 2024. 

To estimate voter population totals for new precincts, run a Custom Voter List from QVF. Once the report is generated, you may apply filters, then sort columns based on street name and/or house number. Using the report in this way requires you to visually check the location of streets within your new precincts on a separate map, then tally up the voter records on the custom voter list for that area. Inactive/IVF voters may be excluded from the calculation of precinct size. They are still considered eligible voters but are not counted toward the maximum allowable precinct population. Below are details on how to run this report: 

Reports>Custom Voter List, Report Options:   

Output Format: Listing  

Please send precinct boundary change requests to ElectionData@Michigan.gov, with SUBJECT: Precinct Boundary Change, and include a brief description of the request and, if necessary, the approved resolution and marked up street index. Including maps with your change request is also helpful and much appreciated. 

To make a marked-up Street Index Report, generate a report of streets and addresses from the QVF and make notations for changes or corrections to existing street segments.  From the main menu, click: Reports>Reports>Street Index Listing.  Print out the report for the entire jurisdiction.  Then, using a ball point pen with red ink, cross out the old precinct or district value and write in the new precinct number for any street segment that is changing. 

Train-the-trainer is an in-person class that provides accreditation for county clerks and their staff, and for clerks and staff in jurisdictions with populations over 10,000, who are authorized to conduct certification training of election inspectors eligible for appointment by local election commissions. This course will provide attendees with election procedure content, resources, and guidance focusing on election procedure practices and procedures related to early voting and other Proposal 2022-2 changes affecting the February 27, 2024 presidential primary. A virtual Train-the-Trainer session will be scheduled at the end of the in-person program. All materials and resources will be posted in Elections eLearning Center for election administrators after the in-person training sessions. 

Who must attend: 

Michigan election law (MCL 168.683) states that county clerks are responsible for training all election inspectors appointed to serve within their respective county. Additionally, city and township clerks in a jurisdiction with a population of 10,000 or more are authorized by the same section of law to conduct their own election inspector training sessions if they so choose. Staff members in qualifying jurisdictions who have been designated by their county, city, or township clerk to conduct election inspector trainings should also attend. 

If you do not conduct your own election inspector training sessions and have no plans to assume the training duties in the immediate future, you are not required to attend. If you are a jurisdiction with a population under 10,000, but you assist the county clerk with their election inspector training or have a special reason to attend the Train-the-Trainer class, you can send information and exception requests approved by your county clerk for consideration to EASupport@michigan.gov.   

Twelve sessions are planned throughout the state in December and January. You may sign up for one of these sessions in the eLearning Center.  

We will be providing an in-person class at the MACC Meeting in Clare, Michigan on November 30, 2023. If you plan on attending this session, you do not need to sign up for this or any other session.  We will assign credit following the session. 

For your eLearning account to remain active, it's important to log in at least once every 6 months. Beginning next week, if you are not logging in every 6 months, your account will be deactivated because of inactivity.  This means if you have not accessed eLearning since mid-May, your account will be deactivated mid-November. Please take a moment to log into eLearning to ensure your account will remain active.  

It’s also important to report any new accounts, reactivations, or updates to existing employees or deactivation requests to the Bureau of Elections as soon as possible via the Michigan Bureau of Elections - Election Account/Update Request Form. 

A report on post-election audits conducted for the November 2022 Statewide Election is now available for review. The report describes the work of municipal and county clerks, as well as the Bureau of Elections, to conduct recounts, procedural audits, and a statistical ballot audit of the 2022 elections. Recounts and audits confirmed that Michigan’s election system performed effectively in 2022 and that municipal and county election officials’ extensive work and preparation for the election resulted in a smoothly conducted election with record turnout. The report also describes how recounts, procedural audits, and statistical ballot audits of paper ballot confirmed that tabulators counted ballots accurately in statewide races. For more information about election audits and administration, visit Michigan.gov/Vote.