Both federal law and the Michigan Constitution require that, no later than 45 days before the election, clerks transmit ballots to military and overseas (MOVE) voters who have applied for ballots. The deadline to transmit ballots for the Nov. 3 Election is Saturday, Sept. 19. This deadline always falls on a Saturday and requires strict compliance, meaning that, unlike other deadlines in the election law, the Saturday MOVE deadline does not get bumped back to Monday. You must transmit ballots by that Saturday. As of November 2025, a MOVE voter who has requested electronic delivery will receive their ballot via the Electronic Delivery and Return Portal (EDARP). BOE’s administrative rules describe clerk and voter access to the portal, required verification, and other provisions. BOE staff will be available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19, to assist clerks with questions about issuing MOVE ballots.
For a ballot to be sent electronically, at least one person in your jurisdiction must take the EDARP training, either the virtual class being conducted on September 9 at 2 p.m. or the EDARP Access Training Module in eLearning.
The ballots for each jurisdiction must be proofed in the EDARP system, and all absent voter ballot applications received from MOVE voters must be entered into QVF with the correct preferred delivery method by Saturday, Sept. 19. Once the ballots are proofed by both the state and jurisdiction, all voters who requested a ballot electronically will automatically be sent a ballot through the EDARP system provided that the voter’s information is correctly recorded in QVF. Ballot numbers are also automatically assigned through the system, eliminating the need for election administrators to manually enter an electronic ballot number. If something occurs in your jurisdiction that prohibits you from meeting this deadline (for example, litigation delays or ballot printing), please email BOE’s regulatory section at boeregulatory@michigan.gov as soon as possible.
Download the MOVE compliance report
To avoid missing the MOVE deadline, there are many tools available in QVF, including a report that details every MOVE voter in your jurisdiction. The information in the report is populated by the information you have entered in the individual voter’s QVF profile. You can find it under the Reports tab, titled “Military and Overseas Voter Compliance Report”. QVF receives information from EDARP and this report will include the information of MOVE voters whose ballots are electronically sent through EDARP. The report will not include a ballot number or sent date for an electronic ballot until that ballot style is proofed by both the state and the jurisdiction.
Verify the information on the report
Once you have located the report, ensure that every MOVE voter is properly entered into QVF. If you have a MOVE voter who does not appear on the spreadsheet, then the MOVE status in the voter’s profile needs to be updated. A voter appearing on this report is currently registered as a MOVE voter. If the voter is an overseas civilian who has returned to the U.S., you should clear their UOCAVA status. Otherwise, the voter should receive a ballot. All requests for a MOVE ballot submitted on or after Nov. 4, 2025, are valid for every election in 2026. MOVE voters are not required to submit a separate request for each election in 2026. Note that, with the passage of Proposal 2022-2, all voters (including MOVE voters) may now complete a single application to be mailed an absent voter ballot for all future elections. However, MOVE voters must submit an application, such as an FPCA, each year to ensure MOVE protections and allow enough time for the ballot to be returned.
What happens if the deadline is missed?
For all timely requested ballots, if a clerk sends a MOVE ballot late, the MOVE/UOCAVA voter is provided with an extension of time equivalent to the number of days the clerk was late in delivering the ballot, so long as the ballot is postmarked by Election Day. The MOVE ballots received during the extension period shall be counted and tabulated in the final results. MCL 168.759a(16)
Also note that the Michigan Constitution provides for a six-day grace period following Election Day, during which MOVE ballots postmarked by Election Day are considered timely received. Military voters who electronically return their ballots using EDARP must submit their ballots by the close of polls in the jurisdiction in which they are registered; because the ballot is electronically transmitted in real time and not mailed, the grace period does not apply to those voters.
Update your contact information
After the MOVE deadline, BOE staff will review this report and reach out to local clerks to troubleshoot any issues that may occur. You may also receive a call from your county clerk. Please make sure you are checking the email you provided in eLearning or update it if necessary.
If you have any questions or run into issues, please contact us at boeregulatory@michigan.gov. We are here to support you.
In Michigan, a person who is in jail before their trial or awaiting their sentence is eligible to register to vote and vote an absentee ballot. The only prohibition to registration and voting is for those who are confined post-sentencing. This also means that once a person is released from jail or prison, their right to register and vote is restored immediately upon release; even if they are on parole, probation, or have some other court-ordered restriction after their release.
On Sept. 8, the state is sending out a voter registration mailer to eligible but unregistered residents with Michigan driver’s license or state ID, informing them of their opportunity to register to vote. Individuals will receive this form only if they appear to be eligible to register. Individuals who have opted-out of Automatic Voter Registration since June 2026 will receive a postcard version of the mailer. Residents with non-U.S. citizen driver’s license or state ID records will not be sent this mailer.
Recipients will be directed to the online registration site but are also informed of the option to register with their clerk, so you may see some increase in registrations after this mailer is sent.
A similar mailer was sent in 2020, 2022, and 2024 as part of Michigan’s participation in the Electronic Registration Information Center. However, Michigan’s practice of sending voter registration mailers to eligible but unregistered voters pre-dates the 2020 process by many years. Prior to 2020, the state would send a voter registration form to every eligible driver’s license or state ID holder when they turned 18. With the introduction of online voter registration, voter registration has become more efficient because most recipients choose to register online rather than mailing the form back to their local clerk.
We hope these mailers will be helpful tools to get information to voters. You can view them in the eLearning Center.
State and local governments must comply with updated ADA Title II requirements. The compliance deadlines are:
- April 26, 2027, for entities with populations of 50,000 or more.
- April 26, 2028, for smaller entities and special district governments.
Addressing accessibility can make the development and remediation process more efficient. Incorporating accessibility into the initial design can reduce the need to identify and fix issues later. Accessible forms allow people to interact with form controls using the technologies they rely on, whether they view the form visually, have content read aloud by a screen reader, or use other assistive technology such as an alternative keyboard or screen magnification.
Our colleagues with the State of Minnesota IT Services Department have written an article which focuses on this entitled Choosing the right tool for accessible forms: When a fillable PDF makes sense.
If you have questions or concerns regarding election accessibility or accommodations, please contact the ombudsperson for accessible elections by emailing adavoting@michigan.gov.
Under the Michigan Constitution, absent voter ballots must be available to all voters by the 40th day prior to the election, which in this case is Thursday, Sept. 24. Beginning on that date, clerks should be issuing ballots over the counter and processing ballots for voters who requested a ballot by mail.
The Bureau of Elections (BOE) also understands that sometimes jurisdictions do not have ballots by the 40th day for reasons beyond their control, such as the need to reprint ballots or litigation. If you do not have ballots by Sept. 24, you should post a notice in your office and on your webpage and through social media accounts if you have them. The notice should indicate the date ballots will be available (if that date has been provided to you). Additionally, you should prepare for processing and issuing ballots as soon as you receive them.
BOE will be closed Monday, Sept. 7. The next News Update will be sent Tuesday, Sept. 8. We hope you have a relaxing Labor Day!
Electronic ballots issued to military and overseas voters are now issued through the Electronic Delivery and Return Portal (EDARP). All jurisdictions must have a user with access to EDARP to facilitate ballot issuance to all current and future military and overseas voter ballot requests. An Electronic Delivery and Return Portal (EDARP) access training is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9 at p.m. As a reminder, election administrators must complete the EDARP access training before being granted access to the EDARP module. Anyone who has not taken the EDARP access training previously and is unable to attend the scheduled virtual training can take the EDARP Access Training Module available in eLearning. Access to EDARP will be provided once the individual has completed the training.
Please note, in addition to the EDARP access training, two training tidbits will be EDARP related. The Sept. 10 Military and Overseas Voters training will discuss QVF tools for MOVE voters, and the Sept. 15 tidbit will focus on ballot proofing in EDARP. Those and all other training tidbits for the November 2026 General Election can be signed up for at 2026 Training Tidbits.
Sept. 4
- Certification of 100-word statement of proposed ballot amendment or question due.
- Deadline for Democratic and Republican parties to hold fall state conventions.
- Deadline for cities and townships to establish, move, or abolish a polling place for the November General Election. Beginning of period during which local legislative body or board of county election commissioners may not establish, move, or abolish a polling place, early voting site, or central polling place, unless damaged, destroyed or rendered inaccessible or unusable.
- Deadline for ballot wording for constitutional amendments and legislative referendums, which the Legislature wishes to place on the November General Election ballot, to be presented to Secretary of State.
- Local clerk must inform applicable county clerk that absent voter counting board has been authorized by local board of election commissioners.
- Location of each early voting site must be finalized.
Sept. 19
- Beginning of period during which clerk must make reasonable effort to verify or reject AV ballot application or AV ballot return envelope by the end of the business day after the application or envelope is received.
- County clerk must provide each municipal clerk or early voting coordinator with programming for electronic voting equipment and ballots used for testing at early voting site.
- Deadline for clerks to electronically transmit or mail (as requested) an absent voter ballot to each absent military or overseas voter who applied for an absent voter ballot 45 days or more before the election (MOVE deadline).
- Deadline for county clerks to deliver absent voter ballots for November General Election to local clerks.
- Notice of polling place or early voting site must be provided for sites newly established or changed by 60 days before Election Day
Deadline for counties, cities, and townships to establish, move, or abolish an early voting site or polling place for the Nov. 3 General Election. The moving of an early voting site or polling place requires:
- Township board, city council/commission, or county commission approval
- Notice to voters
- Notice of the change posted at the old polling location
Clerks who have not already done so should verify that all early voting sites and polling places they plan to use will be available for Nov. 3. If any early voting site or polling place changes, this information must be updated in QVF.
Please review the Early Voting Electronic Poll Book (EV EPB) - Clerk Manual for complete instructions.
Effective June 22 and 23, 2026, the term of office for elected township and general law village officials will begin at 12 p.m. on Dec. 1 following the officer’s election, 2026 PA 18 and 2026 PA 19. The term of office for elected city and home rule village officials will begin at 12 p.m. on the first day of the month following the officer’s election (typically Dec. 1, or Jan. 1 if that is the date provided in the charter), 2026 PA 17 and 2026 PA 20. The new term of office applies to officers elected after Dec. 31, 2024.
Additionally, an individual elected to fill a vacancy in a township, city, or village office cannot take the oath of office until the results of the election have been certified by the appropriate board of canvassers.
Because the bills took effect after the MOVE deadline for the August Primary, the dates were not changed on the August Primary ballot; however, they should be updated to Dec. 1 (or Jan. 1 if that is the date provided in the charter) for the November General ballot.
In preparation for the Nov. 3 Election, the BOE Training Team will be offering 30- to 45-minute lunchtime virtual sessions on specialized election administration tasks. The sessions currently planned for this round of Training Tidbits are as follows:
- Using the QVF/EPB Sandboxes: Sept. 1, 12 p.m.
- Election Inspectors: Sept. 3, 12 p.m.
- Absent Voter Process Part 1 (Issuing AV Ballots): Sept. 8, 12 p.m.
- Military and Overseas Voters: Sept. 10, 12 p.m.
- EDARP Ballot Proofing Walkthrough: Sept. 15, 12 p.m.
- Logic and Accuracy Testing: Sept. 17, 12 p.m.
- Absent Voter Process Part 2 (Receiving AV Ballots): Sept. 22, 12 p.m.
- Campaigners, Poll Watchers, and Challengers: Sept. 24, 12 p.m.
- Early Voting Reminders for November: Sept. 29, 12 p.m.
- Absent Voter Process Part 3 (Processing AV Ballots): Oct. 1, 12 p.m.
- This session will contain guidance both for jurisdictions processing AV ballots in the precinct, and those who operate absent voter counting boards.
- Absent Voters at the Polls: Oct. 6, 12 p.m.
- Emergency Backup Procedures: Oct. 8, 12 p.m.
- Election Day EPB: Oct. 13, 10:30 a.m.
- This extended 90-minute session will include time for clerks to practice the EPB download and install processes with BOE staff in the chat to assist. Clerks are always encouraged to practice downloading the electronic pollbook early and often before each election.
- 0-14 Day Voter Registration: Oct. 15, 12 p.m.
- Closing the Polls: Oct. 20, 12 p.m.
- Election Night Reminders (Receiving Boards): Oct. 22, 12 p.m.
- Absent Voter Process Part 4 (AV Ballot Grace Periods): Oct. 27, 12 p.m.
BOE has two remaining election security TTXs this year. These events are specifically for county and local election officials, as well as county and local law enforcement partners. TTXs provide clerks with practical guidance, updated best practices, and opportunities to engage directly with subject matter experts.
Participation from clerks, law enforcement, emergency management, legal counsel, or IT representatives supporting your Emergency Response Plan is strongly encouraged. Registration is required.
Sept. 29: Roscommon (registration closes Sept. 10)
This is a reminder that, in addition to the Procedural Post-Election Audits, the Risk Limiting Audits using Arlo will need to be completed after the November Election. You should consider that Arlo selects an entire batch (precinct) when programming ballots, assigning precincts to tabulators, and planning the storage of voted ballots. We will be asking for each precinct’s ballots cast and ballots per candidate in selected races to be broken down by precinct name/number and method (precinct name/number-Election Day, precinct name/number-EV, and precinct name/number-AVCB). We will be sending out instructions on how to conduct and enter your audit into Arlo soon.
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