News File photo of an absentee ballot drop box outside the Alpena Township office building.

ALPENA – Absentee ballots for the Aug. 4 primary election will begin arriving in local clerks’ offices to be mailed to voters starting today, giving residents in Michigan ample time to participate in Michigan’s no-excuse absentee voting system.

The option provides a convenient alternative to in-person voting on Election Day, particularly for those with work schedules, travel plans, disabilities, or family responsibilities. Michigan voters approved reforms that expanded absentee voting in 2024, including the permanent absentee ballot list, which allows eligible residents to sign up once and automatically receive a ballot application by mail for every local, state, and federal election.

As of September 2024, Alpena Township maintained a list with approximately 1,670 voters, Alpena Township Clerk Michele Palevich said. She said that the total has slowly climbed over time.

“We currently have 1,808 voters on the permanent AV list,” Palevich said. “This is only a slight increase since the February 2024 Presidential Primary.”

Deputy Clerk for the City of Alpena, Leilan Bruning, shared the current number of permanent voters on their list.

“As of today, we have 1,512 on the permanent ballot list for the August election,” Bruning said. “We had 1,515 on this list from the last May 5, 2026, election.”

According to prior reporting from The News in November of 2024, absentee voting popularity has increased notably in recent cycles. During the November 2024 presidential general election, Alpena County clerks sent out 5,913 absentee ballots, of which 5,375 were returned for a robust 90.8 percent completion rate. In the City of Alpena alone, 1,990 ballots were sent with 1,786 returned. In-person early voting supplemented those figures, with 3,241 early voters countywide and 883 in the city.

When combined, early and absentee voting accounted for 39.5 percent of participation in Alpena County and 36.3 percent in the city – trailing the statewide average of roughly 43.9 percent but marking a clear uptick from lower-turnout primaries earlier in 2024, when early in-person voting in the city and township numbered only in the low hundreds.

Although some describe the growth of absentee voting as encouraging, rural traditions often favor Election Day voting, however, the ease of mail-in and early options is drawing more consistent participation, especially among older voters and those with mobility challenges.

“In the May elections, the Charter Township had 1,195 voters vote absentee and 267 vote in person,” Palevich said. “I am anticipating more in-person voters in August and November.”

Palevich outlined the step-by-step process for township residents not on the permanent list.

“A registered voter who is not on our permanent absentee ballot list can request a ballot by completing an application that can be either emailed or mailed to the Clerk’s office, request a ballot in person or request a ballot online,” Palevich explained. “Once we receive the application and verify the voter’s signature, a ballot is issued and mailed or delivered to the voter.”

For Alpena residents, the clerk’s office is at City Hall.

The last day to have a ballot mailed to a voter is Friday, July 31.

“If a voter would like to vote absentee after July 31, they would have to come in-person to the township office before the deadline of 4 p.m. on Aug. 3,,” Palevich said. “A ballot must be received by 8 p.m. on election day to be counted.”

“Ballots can be returned by mail, in person, or in the election drop box,” Palevich added.

Early voting for the Aug. 4 primary will run from July 25, through Aug. 2. The hours for voting are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Alpena and Alpena Township voters will use the shared site at the Alpena Township Civic Building for early voting.

Early voting is done in person, just like on Election Day.

Palevich offered a reminder for voters about how primary elections work.

“August is a primary election, and voters can only vote for one party. They cannot split their ticket, she said. All ballots will have millage proposals on them.