Michigan clerks should have been ready to mail absentee ballots to voters on Jan. 30, the state’s elections director indicated in an email to clerks on Thursday, a day after The Detroit News reported concerns about delays in sending ballots.
Jonathan Brater, the elections director under Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, said in his message that by the 40th day before an election — Jan. 30 before the state’s March 10 presidential primary — absentee ballots “need to be available for issuance.”
“For voters who have requested an AV (absent voter) ballot by mail, this means mailing ballots on day 40,” Brater wrote.