Presidential Primary: contacting voters who failed to make a ballot selection

Jan. 18 was the 40^th day before the February Presidential Primary election, marking the start of the period in which clerks are required to reach out to permanent mail ballot voters who have not yet made a ballot selection. The Michigan Election Law does not specify when the contacting of voters must be concluded. In order for clerks to satisfy this statutory requirement, for this election cycle, we believe the best practice would be to ensure all follow-up communications are conducted by Feb. 13, which is the effective date of the legislation and would give voters a final opportunity to make a selection in time for ballots to be mailed and return.

Additionally, the Michigan Election Law does not require all methods of communication (phone, email, text, mail) to be used at the same time. For example, if it is more efficient to email and text voters first, and follow up with phone calls and mail to those voters who have not responded, this would be an acceptable option. Clerks are also not required to use personal resources to communicate with voters if no municipal resources are available.

In this outreach, clerks can also direct voters to Michigan.gov/Vote to make their ballot selection. The Michigan Voter Information Center now includes a “Submit ballot selection form online” link for permanent mail ballot voters.

Finally, if permanent mail ballot voters still do not respond and make a ballot selection, and the jurisdiction has a local-only ballot available, the municipal clerk must send those voters a local-only ballot with along with a notice that (1) they are receiving this ballot because they did not make a ballot selection and (2) the process by which they can still vote in the Presidential Primary. This notice is available in eLearning under “Presidential Primary Ballot Selection Form – Local Ballot Notice.” We recommend that these ballots be sent to voters by Feb. 16, so that voters who do wish to vote in the Presidential Primary can vote at their early voting sites. For more information on accommodations for permanent ballot voters specific to this election, refer to the “Permanent Ballot Voters for the Presidential Primary” guide in eLearning. For guidance determining which permanent ballot voters have not yet made a ballot selection, refer to the “Quick Guide: Presidential Primary Ballot Selection Form Report.”

Alternate addresses for AV applications and ballots

When clerks’ offices receive requests that an Absent Voter Ballot Application, a Ballot Selection Form, or an Absent Voter Ballot be sent to an address other than the voter’s permanent mailing address, it is important to record this as an alternate address in QVF, rather than a permanent mailing address. If a new permanent mailing address is inadvertently updated in QVF, this also updates the driver’s license file, triggering an update to the driver record and a notification to the voter that their residential or mailing address may have changed. If the mailing address provided by the voter is temporary for the immediate election, it is important to follow the guidance provided in QVF Manual Chapter 6 Absent Voter Tracking or the following Quick Guide: Adding Alternate Addresses for AV Applications and AV Ballots. If a voter contacts you to say they received a notice from the Secretary of State and they did not intend to update their permanent mailing address, please check the voter’s record, remove the permanent mailing address that was entered in error, and follow the instructions in the manuals above to enter the temporary mailing address in the correct location.

Presidential Primary reimbursement

Beginning after the Presidential Primary, county and local clerks will be able to electronically submit a reimbursement form for expenses attributable to the Feb. 27, 2024 Presidential Primary. To prepare, clerks should review our Reimbursement Guidelines for the 2024 Presidential Primary document, which is now available in eLearning. Please watch for future news updates with more information, along with links to worksheets and the online reimbursement claim form. In order to be reimbursed, claim forms must be received by May 27, 2024.

Early absent voter ballot processing deadlines

Jan. 30 - Clerks intending to process or tabulate AV ballots before Election Day must submit written notice to the Secretary of State. Please email notice to Elections@michigan.gov with the subject line: Early tabulation.

Feb. 9 – Deadline to post notice on website (if available) and in clerk's office of the location, dates, hours, and number of election inspectors for AV counting place if processing and tabulating AV ballots before Election Day.

Feb. 16 - Deadline for clerks processing and tabulating AV ballots before Election Day to post revised notice of location, dates, hours, or number of election inspectors, if needed.

Feb. 19 - Cities or townships with a population of at least 5,000 may begin processing and tabulating AV ballots.

Feb. 26 - Any city or township may begin processing and tabulating AV ballots.

Reporting weekend hours for February 27 Presidential Primary

All clerks must report the hours the clerk's office will be open for absentee voting the Saturday and/or Sunday prior to the February Presidential Primary. The Michigan Election Law requires the clerk's office to maintain a minimum of 8 hours over those two days. The time may be split between Saturday and Sunday or all conducted on one day. This information must be entered in to QVF no later than Monday, Jan. 29. This information also must be posted with other township or city postings in a central location. To enter this information into QVF: Select “Elections” from there select “Jurisdiction hours”, select your jurisdiction and enter your Business and Pre-Election Weekend Hours and add any additional registration locations using the “Additional Registration” button if needed. Select “Save” before exiting.

See the QVF Manual Chapter 11 - Clerk Contacts for further instructions. When you enter this information into QVF, voters will see it under the Election Information “Your Clerk” tab on the Michigan Voter Information Center, Michigan.gov/Vote.

Establishing early voting regions in QVF

Clerks coordinating an early voting region (for either single-municipality, municipal, or county agreements) should establish early voting regions and sites in the “Early Voting” module under “Elections” in QVF by Jan. 29. While this date is not set in statute, clerks are required to ensure that BOE has the information necessary to include the locations, days, and hours of operation for each early voting site on Michigan.gov/vote. It is strongly recommended that clerks enter this information at the same time they are entering their weekend hours and satellite office information (if applicable). For instructions on setting up the regions and entering sites and hours, see the “Early Voting Region QVF Setup Guide” in eLearning. Further guidance on setting up early voting election inspectors and devices in QVF is still being finalized.

To prepare for establishing early voting regions in QVF, early voting sites will need to be added as a polling place, if they are not currently polling places. You may refer to our Quick Guide: Adding a Polling Location to QVF in eLearning, if necessary.

Accessibility spotlight

BOE is continuing to feature a series of videos, events, links, and articles designed to increase familiarity with general accessibility requirements and best practices.

As election officials, it is critical that we support all individuals’ right to vote and provide the necessary resources to help voters feel more engaged and confident.

We believe that this series will be educational and help us all continue to ensure that everyone can vote privately and independently, whether they vote at a polling place or at home. We encourage you to review the previous accessibility spotlights and use these videos in your trainings.

In our seventh installment, we are featuring a virtual session hosted by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights’ ADA Compliance Unit. This event will celebrate and honor Black persons with disabilities, now and throughout history. The event will feature Tameka Citchen-Spruce and Jennifer White-Johnson who are nationally recognized presenters and creators. This session will be hosted via Zoom. Advance registration is required. Register here: http://tinyurl.com/2husck22.

Election inspector appointments

Election inspectors for the February Presidential Primary must be appointed by your Election Commission no later than Feb. 6.

Remember: Election Commission meetings are subject to the Open Meetings Act, and formal action must be taken to appoint election inspectors (including receiving board inspectors and AVCB inspectors).

When recruiting election inspectors, you can hire anyone registered to vote within the state as well as 16- or 17-year-olds. In addition, the inspectors can be of any state-recognized political party. Inspectors may not choose “independent.” The Election Inspector Application lists the eligible parties.

Election inspectors appointed by the election commission must have received proper election inspector certification within the last two years from a county or authorized jurisdiction.

For more information, review Chapter 13 - Appointing and Training Election Inspectors in the Election Officials’ Manual or Recruiting, Training, and Appointing Election Inspectors on the eLearning Center.

Review polling locations

BOE recommends jurisdictions review their polling location assignments in QVF’s Election Geography module and make corrections where needed. This review is especially important for those who have updated precinct boundaries or changed polling locations in the last three months. The polling location reflected in this module is published to Michigan.gov/Vote. If the location of the pin on MVIC’s map is incorrect, please email ElectionData@Michigan.gov SUBJECT: Polling Location Coordinates

Reminders

Accessible ballots available in QVF

Accessible ballots are now available to send from QVF. Due to a security enhancement, the clerk’s test link will no longer allow the clerk’s office to preview the ballot style being issued; however, BOE has proofed and tested the accessible ballot styles prior to their publication. Voters who receive a ballot link will notice a new step in the process, requiring that they authenticate their identity, before they can view their electronic ballot. This authentication step matches the accessible ballot application process.

Overlapping election dates

Given the close proximity and overlapping deadlines surrounding the Jan. 30 Special Primary and Feb. 27 Presidential Primary, as well as the April 16 Special Election and May 7 Regular Election, we are working to make sure that QVF and MVIC are able to process and display the information for voting and absentee ballots correctly and in a way that’s easy for voters to understand, which means additional options some clerks may need to select. Clerks may have to pay special attention to drop-down menus when recording AV ballot requests, issuance, and receipt.

Additionally, notifications that apply to one election (for instance, information about registering to vote within 14 days of an election) may cause confusion because they do not apply to the other election. We are working to make instructions as clear as possible and appreciate any feedback clerks wish to provide.