Michigan voters face August primary deadlines as mail-ballot requests run 68.5% above 2022 levels
Michigan mail-ballot requests were running 68.5% higher than at the same point in 2022 as voters approached the state’s Aug. 4 primary, according to the Michigan Secretary of State.
The comparison came as Michigan’s first statewide early in-person voting weekend for the August primary began July 25. The state’s update measures requests against the comparable point in the 2022 election calendar, not ballots cast or votes counted.
The available state materials do not provide a raw statewide total for mail-ballot requests. They also do not establish how many requested ballots would be returned, how many voters would participate in the primary, or what the election results would be.
Dates voters should know
The August primary is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026. Before then, Monday, Aug. 3, is the final day for voters to request a mail ballot in person at a local clerk’s office.
The Michigan Attorney General’s notice set that in-person request deadline at 4 p.m. on Aug. 3. The deadline falls one day before the scheduled primary, making it a separate date from Election Day.
Early in-person voting and mail-ballot requests are distinct parts of the election process. The Secretary of State reported that the statewide early in-person voting weekend began July 25, while the attorney general’s notice identified Aug. 3 as the last day for an in-person mail-ballot request through a local clerk.
What the 68.5% increase does—and does not—show
The 68.5% figure is a year-to-year comparison of mail-ballot requests at matching points in the 2026 and 2022 primary calendars. It shows that requests were higher at that stage than they had been in 2022.
It is not a statewide count of requests, because the available update did not provide that number. It is also not a turnout forecast. A request for a mail ballot is not the same as a returned ballot, a ballot cast, or a vote counted.
For Michigan voters and local clerks, the updates place the approaching primary schedule alongside the reported increase in demand for mail ballots. The official materials support the comparison in requests and the listed deadlines, but do not connect the increase to an expected turnout level or an election outcome.
Election-protection resources launched
Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office announced July 24 that it had launched a 2026 election-protection webpage. The office said election-protection and voter-information resources were available statewide ahead of the primary.
The announcement identifies a state resource for voters in the run-up to the election. It does not establish that officials had identified a particular election threat, and it does not by itself indicate widespread fraud or misconduct.
The next confirmed statewide election date is the Aug. 4 primary. Ahead of it, voters seeking to request a mail ballot in person at a local clerk’s office faced the 4 p.m. Aug. 3 deadline, while early in-person voting had already begun with the statewide weekend that started July 25.
Sources
- Michigan election news and voting updates, Michigan Secretary of State
- AG Nessel launches 2026 election-protection webpage, Michigan Attorney General