LANSING – Absentee ballots completed and turned in are up significantly, by more than 36 percent, compared to the same period in 2012, state officials said Thursday.
That equates to nearly 165,000 more ballots being cast absentee with 12 days before the election compared to the same time in 2012, said Department of State spokesperson Fred Woodhams.
The number of applications for absentee ballots and the number of ballots issued are also up, officials said.
With 12 days to go before the 2012 election, 901,567 applications for absentee ballots had been returned, and 1,282,611 ballots had been issued. By this time in 2012, 453,381 ballots had been returned.
This year, 12 days out before the election on November 8, 1,142,929 applications for absentee ballots had been returned, a 26 percent increase. A total of 1,132,632 ballots have been issued, an 8.3 percent increase.
Some 618,010 ballots have been returned.
This suggests the percentage of total votes cast absentee will be significantly higher this year than in 2012.
Already, the number of applications returned to date has topped all the applications returned in 2012 by more than 54,000. And the number of ballots issued is just 150,000 fewer than all the absentee ballots issued in 2012.
An emphasis on early voting across the nation has been pushed by both parties, but especially by Democrats. Higher turnout also tends to favor Democrat candidates.
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