Michigan board certifies February presidential primary, noting large absentee turnout

The Michigan Board of State Canvassers voted to certify the report of votes from the February presidential primary after a briefing from Bureau of Elections staff.

Director Breeder told the board the election marked the first statewide use of nine days of early in-person voting required under Proposal 2022-2 and that jurisdictions used a variety of site configurations. "In total, there were about, I think, 500 or so early voting sites," she said, and added that clerks and canvassers "did an outstanding job" implementing the new procedures.

Breeder said roughly 1,900,000 ballots were cast statewide in the primary: "about 1,100,000 [were] absentee, and as I said, about 80,000 early in person," and that the majority of ballots were cast before election day. She also reported vote totals for the presidential contests: "On the Republican primary, Donald Trump was the winner. He had 761,163 votes. On the Democratic side, Joe Biden was a winner, and he had 625,221 votes."

Board members questioned staff about operational details. Breeder explained jurisdictions may begin tabulating absentee ballots before election day but may not release results until 8 p.m. on election night. She described the early-voting electronic poll book as having a live connection to the qualified voter file that permits converting an absentee ballot to an in-person ballot at check-in in real time.

During public comment before the vote, a caller identified as Mr. Gallant asked the board not to certify the primary, alleging that Marquette County had only three canvassers and citing "article 2 section 7, paragraph 2" to argue against partisan majorities on canvassing boards. The board took the public comment and proceeded to vote.

Following a motion to certify the report of votes, the board voted in favor and the chair noted the election was certified on the record at 10:19 a.m.

The certification completes the board's formal review of the February presidential primary; staff said they would continue training and follow-up with clerks and canvassers on early-voting and early-tabulation procedures ahead of future elections.