Benson: Michigan's Primary Election was secure, Election Night turnout steady

More than 1.2 million Michigan voters cast an early or absentee ballot before polls closed on Election Night

DETROIT, Mich. - Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced that more than 1.2 million Michigan voters had cast an early or absentee ballot in the August Primary before the polls closed at 8 p.m. on Election Night. Election officials reported steady turnout throughout the day.

"First, I want to congratulate all voters for participating in the Primary Election," said Secretary Benson. "Secondly, I want to assure them that the counting and canvassing processes will be carried out in accordance with the law, every ballot will be counted fairly and accurately, and the election's outcome will reflect their will."

Absentee ballot counting boards will continue working into the night as larger jurisdictions count hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots received today and before Election Day. Benson assured voters that clerks and their teams are working as quickly as possible to provide unofficial results. Depending on how close individual races are, some may be called tonight while others may be too close to call until tomorrow.

After unofficial results are released, election officials will begin canvassing the results, reviewing all election processes and results to confirm accuracy and correcting clerical mistakes. Bipartisan boards of county canvassers oversee this process, conduct any recounts, and then certify the amended results. Once the county canvasses are complete, the Board of State Canvassers conducts its own review of the processes and accuracy of the elections and votes to certify the findings. After the Board of State Canvassers certifies, the Primary Election results are final and official.

It is common for vote tallies to change from the initial unofficial results, as Michigan's robust election system has built-in steps to identify and correct errors before results are finalized and certified.

After unofficial results are reported by all Michigan counties, they will be available online at Michigan.gov/Vote.

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