ALPENA — Just more than half of the requested absentee ballots in Northeast Michigan had been returned as of Tuesday, according to the Michigan Secretary of State’s early voting dashboard.

State elections officials recommend any absentee voter who hasn’t already put their ballot in the mail should instead take their ballots to their local clerks in person.

Officials recommended voters get their ballots in the mail by Tuesday — two weeks before Election Day — to guarantee the ballots arrive at their local clerks’ offices before voting is counted on Nov. 5.

Voters can put their ballots in the mail at any time, but ballots that do not arrive at voters’ local clerks’ office by 8 p.m. on Election Day will not be counted, except for military and overseas ballots, which must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by their local clerk within six days after the election.

Across Alpena, Presque Isle, Montmorency, and Alcona counties, 6,927 absentee ballots had been returned by Tuesday, out of 12,976 requested. That means about 53% of all requested absentee ballots had been returned.

Alpena County leads Northeast Michigan, with about 60% of absentee ballots returned as of Tuesday. Presque Isle County had about 56% returned. Montmorency County had about 47% returned. And Alcona County had about 40% returned.

Check out the interactive graphic below showing absentee ballots requested and absentee ballots returned across Northeast Michigan. Reading on mobile? Turn your device horizontally for the best viewing experience. Story continues below graphic.

Local clerks say that return rate lags behind previous elections.

The data means about 12% of Northeast Michigan’s registered voters had already voted by Tuesday.

Ballots put in the mail over the last couple of days or in the coming days could still arrive at clerks’ offices and drive up those figures.

Meanwhile, the deadline for online voter registration passed on Monday, but those who will be 18 or older on Election Day still can visit their local clerk’s office in person to register up until Election Day.

The News reached out to every candidate who will appear on the ballot in a competitive race across Northeast Michigan and compiled more than a dozen stories on where those candidates stand on the biggest issues facing the positions they hope to win. Visit tinyurl.com/NortheastMichiganRaces to read those stories.

The Alpena News newsroom can be reached at 989-354-3111 ext. 617 or newsroom@thealpenanews.com.