Michigan early vote hits 3.2 million ahead of election day

(FOX 2) - With over 3.2 million people casting a ballot, close to half of Michigan's registered voters have participated in the 2024 presidential campaign - and election day isn't even here yet.

In a sign that Michigan has embraced its early voting options in the first year of it being offered, 1.2 million people used the option during the time it was offered.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said she was "really happy" to see people using the method, including parents bringing their kids to the polls.

The biggest share of early voting happened on the last day, with 189,442 people voting on Sunday, Benson said. That follows four straight days of increasing early voting shares.

Nowhere is that energy more evident than in Detroit, which offered 14 days of the voting option. Seven straight days of increasing early voting ended with 6,931 people voting on Sunday. A total of 42,870 people from Detroit voted early.

The city clerk anticipated about 53% of the city's registered voters turning out to vote. So far, about 32% has done so.

On Monday, Benson also outlined when results will be reported with the first batch coming in at 9 p.m. While polls close at 8 p.m. for most of the state, there are three counties in the Upper Peninsula that are in the central timezone, which delays when the state publishes its numbers.

The final unofficial results will be available by midday Wednesday.

"You can expect to see ballots cast at early voting centers and in-person in precincts tomorrow to be among the first numbers to be released in those early totals," she said Monday.

Absentee ballots that were returned early enough for clerks to process them will also be included in those totals. Benson said 82% of the ballots that had been issued have since been returned.