We're diving into a critical question on everyone's mind: How long will it take before we know the Presidential Election results here in Michigan?
Many voters are eager to know when they can expect to see the results. Michigan has a history of close races, and this year is no exception.
I spoke with voters, the Southfield City Clerk's Office, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Oakland University professor Dave Dulio to see when we should see those results.
Election officials are preparing for a significant turnout on Election Day, and voters across the state are gearing up to make their voices heard.
"I would expect maybe day of like midnight if anything," said voter Arleth Lopez.
"Just from what i have heard through social media , friends, and co-workers Is not by tuesday night it may take up to Saturday," said voter Samantha Chandler.
Here in Michigan, voters can vote in three ways: absentee, early voting or simply voting in person.
Brandon Cardenas plans on voting on Election Day, but wants to know the results sooner rather than later.
"I would expect to know the results within a week," Cardenas said. "I would love to know the day of, that would be perfect."
Nearly 3.1 million Michiganders voted by absentee, and 1.2 million voted early out of the nearly seven million registered Michigan voters.
"Elections are a marathon. Not a Sprint."
City of Southfield City Clerk Janet Jackson says her team has been busy around the clock and have been preparing for months for this election.
"We have been working for months that this will be a smooth election day as far as recruiting works to work our polls," Jackson said. "We should have results for our city and voters sometime late election evening."
According to Secretary of State Benson, while we might see some preliminary results on Election Night, rather than the day before, after revamping the way they count and the time it takes.
"We will see how things unfold. I am optimistic that we will have those unofficial results in sooner than we did in 2020," Benson said.
"Michigan is not like other states because we have 1500 clerks that adminster this election," said Oakland University Politics Professor Dave Dulio. "This is not a centralized process."
In past elections, Michigan has experienced delays due to high volume of absentee ballots, but a change in the law allowing clers to count absentee ballots nine days earlier allows clerks more time. Professor Dulio says timelines for official results are still up in the air.
"We really don't know how quickly this is going to get done," Dulio said.
Voters I spoke with are anxious about when they will hear the final results and the potential for delays.
"It's good to know now rather than to live in fear, like, 'oh my goodness, who is going to win?' rather than wait on edge," Arleth said.
"I don't love it," Samantha said. "I would like to know the results sooner."
