News photo by Steve Schulwitz Alpena Clerk Anna Soik prepares to add some recently received absentee ballots to the others her office had received. Absentee voting is ongoing and early voting begins on Saturday.

ALPENA — Early voting for the Nov. 5 presidential election begins in many communities in Northeast Michigan next weekend.

Absent voting has been ongoing for nearly a month, but people will be able to utilize early voting in Alpena, Alpena Township, Rogers City, and other municipalities starting Saturday.

Early voting closely mirrors voting on Election Day, as people can vote in person and run their ballots through the tabulator themselves.

Early voting wraps up on Nov. 3. People will be able to vote early from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. each day.

Residents of Alpena and Alpena Township can vote early at the Alpena Township office building and Rogers City voters can cast their ballots at Rogers City City Hall.

Alpena Clerk Anna Soik said many voters want to vote in person but don’t want to wait in long lines during a presidential election. She said early voting is another option for them.

“Everything is set up exactly like election day at the polls,” she said. “People who have absentee ballots can also stop in and run their ballot and run it through the tabulator.”

Soik said absentee voting has picked up in the last several election cycles, but early voting has not produced much use yet. She said maybe that will change in the coming weeks.

As far as absentee voting in Alpena, Soik said the city has issued over 1,800 and about 53% have been returned so far. She said even with those high totals, she believes it is slower than elections past.

“I feel like it has been a little slow, which is surprising to me,” she said. “I expected it to be more steady. Maybe with early voting and not being in COVID anymore, maybe more voters feel safe going to the polls.”

People can find out where their early voting location is and what days it is offered on the Michigan Department of State’s website by simply typing in their address.

Election Day is on Nov. 5.

Election Day voters will return to their normal poll location in their respective municipalities.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.