Voters on permanent absentee ballot list to receive primary selection forms
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MARQUETTE -- City of Marquette voters who have previously placed their name on the city's permanent absetee ballot list will no longer need to apply prior to each election.
Voters in the city can expect to automatically receive an absentee ballot in the mail prior to each upcoming election, according to a public service announcement from the Marquette city clerk's office on Friday.
Marquette City Clerk Kyle Whitney said in an email to The Mining Journal on Wednesday that the reason for the PSA is because voters must choose whether they want to vote on a Republican or Democratic ballot for the upcoming presidential primary election on Feb. 27.
"As noted, many city voters have already added themselves to the permanent ballot list, and don't need to ask for a ballot to be sent to them, but we are unable to actually deliver a ballot until they have made a party selection," he said.
Whitney said this is not just a local concern.
"Voters across Michigan have already added themselves to the permanent ballot list and are now being asked to complete the primary ballot selection form," he said.
State law previously required voters to make a written request to their local clerk each time they wanted to vote absentee in an election.
"For years, voters have been able to add their names to a 'permanent absentee application list' and voters on that list would be sent an application form prior to each election -- in order to receive a ballot for an election, a voter was required to sign and return the affiliated application," Whitney said.
However, in November 2022, voters across the state approved Proposal 2, implementing a number of major election changes.
"Proposal 2 amended the Michigan Constitution to read that voters have 'the right, once registered, to have an absent voter ballot sent to the voter before each election by submitting a single signed absent voter ballot application covering all future elections,'" Whitney said. "This necessitated the statewide creation of a 'permanent absentee ballot list' and voters on that list are automatically sent a ballot for each election -- they no longer have to sign an application each time. This option has been available to voters in the city since last spring, and we already have a substantial permanent ballot list."
Voters who would like an absentee ballot for the Feb. 27 presidential primary election but have not yet requested one can submit an application online at mi.gov/vote or begin the process by contacting the city clerk's office at clerk@marquettemi.gov.