When will Michigan know who won its presidential election?

Early voting: Michigan Secretary of State says over 250,000 voted early

More than a quarter of a million people in Michigan voted early in the 2024 Election on the first weekend of early voting across most of Michigan.

(FOX 2) - It's one of the most sought-after answers this election cycle: when will the U.S. know who won the presidential race?

After unprecedented circumstances in 2020 led to long delays in projecting a winner between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the 2024 race is expected to be another tight one - and that means it's unlikely the country will know the outcome of the election on Nov. 5.

But the Secretary of State in Michigan is confident that her state will have their results posted sooner than it did four years ago. Even with the challenges of record numbers of absentee ballots, the state still announced a winner within 24 hours of polls closing in 2020.

"Based on that, we'll at least have it (results) by then this time," Jocelyn Benson said Monday.

The biggest reason for her confidence is Oct. 28 is the first day that clerks can begin pre-processing absentee ballots. For the first time ever, Michigan election workers will have eight days to count mail-in ballots.

Everything from opening the envelope, verifying the ballot inside is valid, and inserting it into the tabulator can be done before election day. The only thing that won't happen is publishing the results. They won't be generated until after polls close at 8 p.m. on election night.

"I anticipate many of our communities will be finished by election night," Benson said.

That includes Detroit, whose clerk has set her sights on confirming 100% of the city's results by the end of the night on Nov. 5. Janice Winfrey also opened early voting in the city a week before many others in Michigan, giving residents an entire extra week to cast their ballot. She hopes the convenience of heading to one of the city's 14 early polling sites will help increase participation.

"But my biggest concern is always turnout," she said. "I always pray for hardy turnout."

On Monday, the secretary said more than 250,000 people had used the state's new early voting option, while another 1.5 million voters filled out their ballot from home.