Michigan sees record voter turnout, absentee voting in Aug. 2020 Primary Election
According to Benson, just over 2.5 million Michigan voters participated in Tuesdays primary election, surpassing the states previous record of 2.2 million in the Aug. 2018 Primary Election. The previous record for absentee ballots casted in a Michigan election was 1.3 million in the 2016 Presidential Election. The increase in absentee voting in Michigan is partially due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but is also due to new voting rights. Voter participation in the May election had already surpassed participation in previous May elections before election day even arrived. Many Michigan ballots were delivered to local clerks offices after election day, though they were postmarked prior to election day.