New voter IDs coming in the mail for fall elections in Michigan
Voters in Branch County should receive new voter registration cards in the mail, if they have not already.
Michigan law requires them after the new census. Township or municipal clerks must send "a voter information or ID card if a voter is affected by a change in state house, state senate, U.S. congressional, or county commissioner district or precinct."
For Branch County, all townships and municipalities must do so since the congressional district was changed and now stretches from Monroe County by Lake Erie to Berrien County on Lake Michigan.
The Michigan senate district now goes west to Berrien County with significant shifts in boundaries.
The five Branch County Commission districts were changed and renumbered. The same person may still represent you, but the district number is different.
There are contested races for Congress and the state legislature. Turnout is expected to be significant in August and November when statewide offices will be decided.
The cards must go to all voters on the active, verify, and challenged statuses, regardless of their presence on the inactive voter file list. The registered address must be printed on the card.
This card is not required to cast a ballot and is only for information.
By law, every Michigan voter must present picture identification at the polls or sign an affidavit attesting that they do not have picture identification.
The Secretary of State said, "Your photo ID does not need to have your address. In addition, the name on your identification card may be a shorter form of your name. For example, "Bill" for "William" and "Kathy" for "Katherine" are acceptable."
You may cast your ballot after showing your photo ID to the poll worker and signing the application.
If you do not have a photo ID, you can still cast a ballot simply by signing an affidavit. The affidavit can be used by: voters who do not have acceptable photo ID or voters who have photo ID, but didn't bring it to the polls.
Once you sign the affidavit, you may cast your ballot. It will be counted with all other ballots on Election Day.
Several bills to change this are filed in the state legislature, but are not expected to be approved and signed into law before the November elections.
Absentee voting is allowed for all registered voters who can request a no-excuse absentee ballot and vote from home in August's primaries and November's general election.
Early in-person voting can be accomplished by going to your local election clerk's office and filling out an absentee ballot. Early voting for the August primaries starts June 23. Several lawsuits pending about the qualification for the Republican gubernatorial ballot may change this. Or you can also call your clerk's office and ask that they mail you a ballot application.
You can also download, print, and complete an absentee ballot application from the state's voter information portal. The application must be received by your local election clerk's office no later than 5 p.m. July 29 to vote in the primaries.
This fall, the state's primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 2; the general election is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., but you'll still be allowed to vote if you are in line by 8 p.m.
Voter party registration does not matter when you vote in a primary, but those participating in the primaries can choose only one party's ballot, Democrat or Republican.
You can register or update your voter information online or mail it to the Secretary of State until July 19. You can do so in person at your local election clerk's office, including on Election Day.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Reporter: New Michigan voter IDs coming in the mail for fall elections
