Michigan has set a new voting record: With 98% of votes counted, more than 5.6 million people have voted in the 2024 presidential election – the highest number of votes cast in the state’s history.
“We are now in the third of three consecutive high-turnout elections in our state,” Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said during a news conference at Ford Field in Detroit after polls closed Tuesday. “The early voting process … has undoubtedly made voting easier in our state, and I think that’s why we’re seeing a lot of new voters turn out this year as well.”
According to the Michigan Department of State, more than 5.5 million (5,579,317) Michiganders cast ballots in the 2020 presidential election – 70.5% of the voting-age population. Voter turnout peaked at 72.7% in 1960. The latest census estimate for Michiganders age 18 and older is 7.9 million residents. With 98% of ballots counted, turnout as a percentage of the voting population is currently around 70.4%.
Major changes since 2018 to Michigan election law have increased voter registration and turnout. The changes include same-day voter registration, no-reason absentee voting and automatic voter registration when qualified citizens obtain a driver’s license or personal identification card from the Secretary of State’s Office unless they decline. Electronic voter registration, authorized by the Michigan Legislature, went into effect in 2019. And in-person early voting before state and federal elections was approved by Michigan voters in 2022.
According to state officials, 2.2 million absentee ballots and 1.2 million early votes were cast in this year’s general election — more than 3.4 million votes. The number of Michiganders registered to vote on Election Day as of 6 p.m. Tuesday was 16,573. In 2020, there were more than 28,000 same-day voter registrations on Election Day that year.
“Michiganders actually voted early in person this election,” Benson said, discussing efforts to educate voters. “It really changes the voting culture in our state and will change the voting culture in our state for years to come.”
(This story will be updated as more data becomes available.)
Contact Kristi Tanner: ktanner@freepress.com. Follow her on X: @MIdatalove.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan voters set a new state record for ballots cast
