A voter puts in his ballot for the Michigan presidential primary at a polling station in Warren, Michigan, March 8, 2016. (Getty)
Michigan voters go to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots in the presidential race, along with the state’s U.S. House seats and its state House and Senate seats.
Here’s what you need to know as you head to the polls in Michigan:
POLLING HOURS & LOCATIONS: Polling locations will be open from 7:00am until 8:00pm on Election Day. Voters will still be entitled to vote if they are standing in line when the polls close at 8:00pm. Voters are required to present photo identification at the polls. If you do not have any form of photo ID or forgot to bring it to the polls you can sign an affidavit that will allow you to vote. More details on the requirements can be found here. There are two ways to find out what polling place you should use to vote on Election Day. First, you can search for your polling location by address at the Secretary of State website here. Second, if you are not able to find your polling place using the Secretary of State website, you can find and contact your county clerk here or your county Board of Elections office here.
REGISTRATION GUIDELINES: To be eligible to vote on in the general election in the state of Michigan you must meet a set of criteria found here, and you must also be registered to vote. The deadline for voter registration was October 11 and it is not possible to register to vote on election day. You can confirm your voter registration status using this link. More information about eligibility, registration, and the voting process in Michigan can be found here. You can also watch a video about voting procedures for Election Day here.
TRACKING RESULTS: On Election Day Michigan county web sites may post unofficial results after the polls close at 9:00pm. You can search for local results by county here.
WHAT’S AT STAKE IN FEDERAL RACES: Michigan has 16 electoral votes and has historically leaned red in the presidential election, with the majority of contests going to Republican candidates. However, democratic candidates for president have won the state in all contests since 2000. In a comparison of numerous polls by The New York Times the state is confidently in Clinton’s favor. There are no elections to the U.S. Senate until 2018. There will be 14 candidates up for election to represent Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives, one representing each of the state’s congressional districts. Currently Republicans hold nine of the total 14 seats, while Democrats hold only five seats. For a full list of representatives on the ballot in Michigan click here.
WHAT’S AT STAKE IN STATE RACES: Republicans have a government trifecta in the state of Michigan, with majorities in both the state House of Representatives and Senate, along with holding the governorship. In the state Senate Republicans hold 27 of the 38 total seats, with no elections set to take place again until 2018. In the state House of Representatives all seats are up for election, with Republicans holding 62 of 110 total seats. Republican Rick Snyder has served as Governor of Michigan since 2011 and the next gubernatorial election will take place in 2018.