Absentee Voting

No.

With the passage of Proposal 2 of 2022, a voter may apply one time for all future elections.  A voter may still choose to apply every election if they do want to be placed on the permanent ballot list.  If a voter is going to be away from their residence (outside of Grand Rapids) within 45 days of an election, please contact our office to let us know the mailing address because ballots are not forwarded.

No. The application for the ballot and the return ballot envelope must be signed by the voter only. You are permitted to make a mark that can serve as your new signature or use a signature stamp if you have a difficult time signing your name.  There is an accessible application online.

Yes. If you have already received your absent voter ballot in the mail, but have since decided that you rather vote in person, you may

1. Bring your absent voter ballot to the precinct or early voting site and place it in the tabulator, or
2. Surrender your absent voter ballot to an election inspector and be issued a new one, or
3. If you no longer have your absent voter ballot and have not already returned it to the Clerk’s Office for processing, you can sign an affidavit and receive a new ballot.

Voted absentee ballots remain sealed and are kept in a secure location accessible only to Clerk’s Office staff. All absent voter ballots are delivered to the Absent Voter Processing Board, which is a group of election workers, who then open and tabulate the ballots. The vote totals from the Absent Voter Processing Board for each race or proposal are added to the precinct totals. All absent voter ballots received no later than 8:00 pm on Election Day are tabulated.

Yes, you can go to the State of Michigan Website to see when your ballot was issued and when we received it back.

All absent voter ballots are delivered to the Absent Voter Processing Board, which is a group of election workers, who then open and tabulate the ballots. Absentee Ballot tabulation may start two Mondays before the election.  The vote totals from the Absent Voter Processing Board for each race or proposal are added to the precinct totals. All absent voter ballots received no later than 8:00 pm on Election Day are tabulated.

You may request and vote a replacement ballot. To do this, you need to submit your request in writing with a signature to the City Clerk’s Office by 5 p.m. the Friday before the election. Email your request to elections@grcity.us or fax it to 616.456.4607.

The Clerk’s Office is on the second floor of City Hall, 300 Monroe Ave. NW. It’s open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Validated parking is available in the Government Center Ramp off Monroe and Ottawa avenues. The Clerk's office is open the Saturday before the election from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The City Clerk will void your original ballot and issue you a new ballot. All absentee ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day.