Elections

ABSENTEE:
Any registered voter can request an absent voter ballot. Download an application using the link below, visit your local clerk's office, or apply online at the Michigan Voter Information Center. New this year is an option to join the permanent absentee ballot list. Choosing this option authorizes your local clerk to send you an absentee ballot approximately 40 days prior to each election, without the need to file a formal application each time. (Please note: you must keep voter registration up to date and if you are on the permanent ballot list and any election mail is returned to the clerk as undeliverable, you may be automatically removed from the list.) Absentee ballots can be returned to the clerk in person, by mail, or via ballot drop boxes outside the city municipal building and public library. For the Presidential Primary, selection of ballot style is also required.

EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING:
Any Gratiot County voter can vote in person during the 9 day early in-person voting period (starts the 2nd Saturday before election day through the Sunday before). Gratiot County's Early Voting Center is at the Gratiot County Commission on Aging, 515 S. Pine Street, Ithaca.

Early Voting Center Hours of operation for the February 27, 2024, election are as follows:
Saturday, February 17, 2024: 12 pm to 8 pm
Sunday, February 18, 2024: 12 pm to 8 pm
Monday, February 19, 2024: 9 am to 5 pm
Tuesday, February 20, 2024: 9 am to 5 pm
Wednesday, February 21, 2024: 9 am to 5 pm
Thursday, February 22, 2024: 9 am to 5 pm
Friday, February 23, 2024: 9 am to 5 pm
Saturday, February 24, 2024: 9 am to 5 pm
Sunday, February 25, 2024: 9 am to 5 pm


IN-PERSON ELECTION DAY VOTING:
Polls are open 7am-8pm on Election Day. Contact your local clerk for your polling location or visit the Michigan Voter Information Center.

To vote absentee, you simply request an absent voter ballot in writing, and submit the request to your city clerk. This request can be made by submitting an application, a letter, or a postcard. Requests must have your registered name, address, where you want the ballot sent, and your signature. It may be returned in person, by postal mail, fax, or email as long as your signature is visible. Applications can be obtained from your city clerk's office or online at Michigan Voter Information Center.

(During some elections, applications may also be sent from third parties. If you receive an application, and do not wish to vote absentee, simply disregard the application and visit your polling place or early voting center to vote in person. You are not obligated to vote absentee just because you received an application.)

To have a ballot mailed to you, your application or request must be received by the city clerk no later than 5 p.m. the second Friday before the election. You also may request an absent voter ballot in person at the city clerk's office until 4 p.m. on the Monday before an election. If you request an absent voter ballot on Monday, you must vote it in person at the clerk's office.

Once your application is received by the local clerk, your signature on the request will be checked against your voter registration record before a ballot is issued. You must be a registered voter to receive an absent voter ballot (but you can register and request an absent voter ballot at the same time - see below). Requests for absent voter ballots are processed when received. Absent voter ballots may be issued to you at your home address or any address outside of your city or township of residence.

After receiving your absent voter ballot, you have until 8 p.m. on Election Day to complete the ballot and return it to the clerk's office. Your ballot won't be counted unless your signature is on the return envelope and matches your signature on file. If you received assistance voting the ballot, then the signature of the person who helped you also must be on the return envelope. Only you, a family member or person residing in your household, a mail carrier or election official is authorized to deliver your signed absent voter ballot to your clerk's office.

If an emergency, such as a sudden illness or family death, prevents you from reaching the polls on Election Day, you may request an emergency absent voter ballot. Requests for an emergency ballot must be submitted after the deadline for regular absent voter ballots has passed but before 4 p.m. on Election Day. The emergency must have occurred at a time which made it impossible for you to apply for a regular absent voter ballot. Please contact your local clerk for more information about emergency absent voter ballots.

You may request an absent voter ballot at the same time as registering to vote. If you register on the Monday before an election and request an absent voter ballot at the same time, you must vote it at the clerk's office. If you register on Election Day, you may either request an absent voter ballot and vote it at the clerk's office, or instead of requesting an absent voter ballot you may go to the precinct and vote.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact my office for more information!

Sara Anderson
Alma City Clerk
989-463-8336

Absent Voter Ballot Application

Registered voters who have been convicted and sentenced for a crime and are in confinement as a result of that conviction and sentencing may not vote during the time they are in confinement. Confinement is defined by Michigan Department of Prisons for the purpose of voting as incarcerated in jail or prison, under house arrest, on a tether or serving in a work release program. Voting rights are restored once they have completed their sentence, even if they have been convicted and sentenced for a felony charge.

If you are charged with a crime, but not convicted or sentenced, you may vote even if you are in jail. Contact the City Clerk's office for directions on applying for an absentee ballot for the election you wish to vote in. If your sentencing prevents you from entering public school grounds and your precinct voting location is located in a school, please contact the City Clerk's office about voting absentee ballot.