The Public Accuracy test for the May 7 election must be conducted by a quorum of the Election Commission no later than Thursday, May 2. The meeting must be posted at least 48 hours before the test (MCL 168.798) and held in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. If a jurisdiction is offering early voting for the May 7 election, the deadline is 5 days before the start of early voting.

Important notice to jurisdictions using 3rd party vendors for testing:

If you are using the same vendor that programmed the county’s memory devices to prepare the test deck and/or conduct the preliminary testing, the Election Commission must also complete the Election Commission Certification form at the public test. Designating a single vendor to create and then test the performance of memory cards they programmed, without the involvement of the Election Commission, removes critical checks and balances from the logic and accuracy testing process. The integrity of the testing process may come into question if one party is responsible for both developing and testing the accuracy of the program. Note: A vendor is not an authorized assistant within the meaning of the Election Law or corresponding administrative rules.

The following technical QVF and election administration support will be available for early voting and through Election Day:

Saturday and Sunday, April 27 and 28: 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Monday - Wednesday, April 29 – May 1: 7 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Thursday, May 2: 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Friday, May 3: 7 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5:  7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Monday, May 6: 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Election Day, May 7: 6 a.m. until 10 p.m.

NOTE: If your call goes to voicemail, please leave only one message with detailed information about the problem you are encountering. This allows the BOE staff to return calls effectively and to provide help to everyone efficiently.

Phone numbers:

QVF technical questions: 800-310-5697

Election administration questions: 517-335-3237

Last year’s early voting legislation allowed communities that process a large number of same-day registrations to establish Election Day Vote Centers. The BOE will contact those communities that are eligible to establish vote centers; notice of the establishment must be submitted to the applicable county clerk by May 8, 2024.

If you are having trouble connecting to the early voting EPB, please ensure your early voting EPB laptop is connected to the internet and that you have reviewed the Early Voting EPB manual. If you have not already done so, please contact the individual or entity responsible for providing IT or internet support for your early voting site and determine how you can best reach them if you need assistance.  Please make sure you have your internet service provider or IT support phone number available in case your early voting site loses connectivity.

BOE anticipates that peak call and email volume from clerks will occur the first Saturday morning of early voting as early voting sites are set up for the first time. As noted, if you are unable to resolve a connectivity issue and need assistance, please leave only one message with detailed information about the problem you are encountering so that we may assist you and other jurisdictions most efficiently.

Note that if you do not have access to the early voting EPB during the early voting period, early voting can and should still continue. The early voting EPB has been thoroughly tested and we do not expect any interruptions in connectivity on the state end, but you can continue to operate an early voting site if you lose connectivity during any part of the early voting period or any other unforeseen circumstances. 

Please utilize the linked Early Voting Offline/Paper Back-up Procedures as stop gap steps if connectivity is temporarily lost. Once connection resumes you will need to ‘catch up’ the Early Voting Electronic Pollbook (EV EPB) to ensure that voter activity is recorded timely in the Qualified Voter File (QVF). 

To find a collection of all our guides and resources developed for early voting, please visit our early voting information and materials playlist. We continue to add materials to this playlist in response to feedback from election administrators. Make sure to follow this playlist and check it regularly to view updated and added materials.

These materials include:

• Early Voting Electronic Poll Book Manual
• Early Voting Region QVF Setup Guide
• Early Voting EPB QVF Setup Guide
• Early Voting EPB Virtual Presentation
• Virtual Early Voting EPB Training Recording
• Early Voting Electronic Poll Book Sandbox
• Qualified Voter File Sandbox
• QVF + EV EPB Sandbox Guide
• QVF + EV EPB Sandbox Tutorial Video
• Early Voting EPB Security Best Practices
• Early Voting Site Offline Paper Back-up Procedures
• Early Voting Procedures Virtual Training Presentation
• EV Quick Guide for Early Voting Equipment

The Early Voting EPB is now available in “read-only” mode in preparation for the May election. No voter history will be able to be recorded until early voting begins; however, jurisdictions that will be conducting early voting for May can practice accessing the site to ensure a smooth opening.

An updated version of the Early Voting EPB Manual for the May election is also available. It contains clarifications on spoiling ballots (which does not require a record in the EV EPB) and using the “Undo Voter History” functionality in the EV EPB, added in response to common questions from the February election. This updated manual can be found by searching in eLearning, as well as in the Early Voting playlist above.

Election inspectors with EV EPB user accounts that worked in the February election will need to set new passwords at first log in during early voting for May. These passwords expire between elections and cannot be reused. Have your election inspectors follow instructions in the EV EPB manual for resetting passwords.

PA 81 of 2023 amended the Michigan Election Law to allow jurisdictions to convene absent voter counting boards to process and tabulate absent voter ballots prior to Election Day. This replaced any “pre-processing” of absent voter ballots from previous election cycles. For those jurisdictions who are participating in the early processing and tabulation of AV ballots, please review the Guide now available in eLearning.

Clerks coordinating an Early Voting region (for either single-municipality, municipal, or county agreements) for the May election are now able to configure Early Voting EPB devices in QVF. These steps include the following:

• Adding election inspectors as EV EPB users
• Establish EV EPB devices and multifactor authentication
• Assigning precincts and jurisdictions to EV site tabulators
  • Optional, only for regions with multiple tabulators in an EV site

For instructions on adding this information, see the “Early Voting EPB QVF Setup Guide” in the eLearning Center.

Before completing these steps, clerks and EV coordinators must establish early voting regions and sites in the “Early Voting” module under “Elections” in QVF. For instructions on setting up the regions and entering sites and hours, see the “Early Voting Region QVF Setup Guide” in the eLearning center.

All of these steps must be completed prior to accessing the Early Voting EPB during the early voting period. Please note that, unlike the Election Day EPB, the Early Voting EPB does not require a software or file download. Similar to QVF, the Early Voting EPB is accessed through a browser with a secure connection.

IMPORTANT! Early Voting equipment order - Fulfillment: For all county and local clerks that requested tabulators, ballot on demand, VAT or other large equipment purchased by the State of Michigan, submit your completed acceptance forms ASAP to MDOS-BOEOperations@Michigan.gov. Ensure the completed acceptance forms match the equipment ordered for your county and jurisdiction. Delays in receiving this form will delay EV reimbursement and Round 2 requests.

Early Voting grant application - Round 2: Utilize this application form if you need to order early voting equipment prior to the August/November elections. The county clerk’s application should include the needs of all jurisdictions within your county. Coordinate with your jurisdictions to make sure they can request what they need and are set up for success in future elections. Applications are due April 26, 2024. Late applications will not be accepted. You will be required to buy direct from a vendor and submit for reimbursement if you don’t make this deadline. Fulfillment of additional requests will be prioritized based on funding available from Round 1 orders, reimbursements, and countywide agreements over single jurisdictions.

Early Voting grant reimbursement - Round 1: Utilize this form to submit reimbursement claims for equipment you bought prior to the presidential primary and included in your Round 1 early voting grant application. Reimbursement claims must be submitted by May 1, 2024.

Presidential Primary: Currently, county and local clerks can electronically submit a reimbursement form for expenses attributable to the Feb. 27, 2024 Presidential Primary. To prepare, clerks should review the Reimbursement Guidelines for the 2024 Presidential Primary document, available in eLearning. In order to be reimbursed, claim forms must be received by May 27, 2024. This deadline is set by statute, and we cannot process any forms received after this date.

Prepaid postage reimbursement of return of AV Ballot application, ballots, signature cure forms and presidential primary selection forms should be included in your postage costs for the Presidential Primary and not separately as a prepaid postage reimbursement for the February (Presidential) Election.

The return of confirmation notices is not a reimbursable cost covered under prepaid postage reimbursement.

Prepaid postage and drop box for 2023 elections: We are working to improve our reimbursement processing time on prepaid postage and drop box (including security camera) requests. We discovered that because of an Outlook inbox issue, we may not have received all submissions for calendar year 2023 drop box and prepaid postage. If you have not received your reimbursement or any communication from us related to additional documentation for reimbursement submissions in 2023 for either drop box or prepaid postage claims, please email MDOS-BOEreimbursement@michigan.gov as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Friday, April 26, 2024, at 5 p.m. is the deadline for electors to submit a written request to spoil their absent voter ballot and receive a new absent voter ballot by mail, and the deadline for electors who have returned their absent voter ballot to submit a written request in person to spoil their absent voter ballot and receive a new absent voter ballot in the clerk's office.

Friday, May 3, 2024, at 5 p.m. is the deadline for electors who have lost their absentee ballot or not yet received their ballot in the mail to submit a written request to spoil their absent voter ballot and receive a new absent voter ballot by mail.

Monday, May 6, 2024, at 4 p.m. is the deadline for electors who have lost their absentee ballot or not yet received the ballot in the mail to submit a written request to spoil their absent voter ballot and receive a new absent voter ballot in the clerk’s office.

BOE invites all local election officials who are participating in this May’s election to join the Election Day Information Sharing Room. The purpose of this room is to share election-related information, in particular information regarding incidents that have occurred, between local government officials, local election officials, and the Michigan Election Incident Response Team. You may log in and use the chat area to stay informed and report any election security related incidents directly or request guidance on security related issues. Information shared in this room should be considered raw information and should not be shared with the public or the media. The room will be open May 7 from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. 

Attendance in this room is optional, and you may drop in and out throughout the day for updates. 

Access to this room is by request only. Once requested, you will receive a link to the session. The session will be on the Adobe Connect Platform which may require a download on your system. Click the link below to register for the upcoming May 7 election.

Local Election Officials Election Day Information Sharing Room (csod.com)

Departmental Analyst 9-11 Data & Programs Section: This position serves as the street index and addressing administrator for the Michigan Qualified Voter File (QVF). QVF is used by all election officials, county, township, and city, statewide. This position must analyze and coordinate all activities associated with the data integrity of the street index of the QVF. Salary: $49,712.00 - $77,916.80. Posting closes April 26 at 11:59 p.m.