DETROIT -- A judge ruled Friday afternoon that City Clerk Jackie Currie would be replaced as head of Detroit's absentee voter program.

The ruling followed testimony from Secretary of State election monitor Susan McRill, who said she discovered evidence of voter fraud.

Judge Mary Beth Kelly, of Wayne County Circuit Court, ordered Thursday that McRill and another monitor oversee Currie and her election workers, or ambassadors, specifically for the handling of absentee ballots.

McRill testified Friday that she witnessed ambassadors helping senior citizens at the Fairlane Nursing Centre on Joy Road in Detroit to sign their absentee ballots, and apparently coaching them to vote for Jackie Currie, Local 4 reported.

"I did hear (an ambassador) say to the voter, 'Do you want to vote for Jackie?' And when the voter didn't respond, she then said, 'Do you want to vote for Jackie?'" McRill said.

Secretary of State officials made the following recommendations at Friday's court hearing: that Currie be removed from overseeing absentee voting; ambassadors receive immediate training on proper procedures; and control of the absentee program be assigned to the Wayne County Election Commission.

Kelly ruled that two representatives from the Wayne County Election Commission take over the Detroit absentee voting program.

"I don’t know what ambassadors right now are visiting what nursing homes and what's going on, so, we need to put an end to this unrestrained activities of the ambassadors," Kelly said.

State officials will also be assigned the task of counting absentee ballots after Tuesday's election.

Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land issued a news release on Friday, encouraging residents who plan to cast absent-voter ballots in the Nov. 8 election to learn about their rights and responsibilities.

The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot by mail is 2 p.m. Saturday. To vote an absentee ballot in person at a clerk's office, you must do so by 4 p.m. Monday.

Voters who qualify for an emergency absentee ballot can get one after 2 p.m. up until 4 p.m. on Election Day. Valid reasons for an emergency ballot include a physical disability or last-minute travel necessitated by a family illness or death that makes it impossible to apply for an absent-voter ballot by the Saturday deadline.