Michigan’s top election official says to expect later-than-typical results from next week’s presidential primary because of a surge of absentee ballots and other factors. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says the election is the first major statewide contest since voters in 2018 authorized no-reason absentee voting and same-day voter registration. Absentee ballot requests are up 80-percent compared to the 2016 presidential primary. So far nearly 16,000 absentee ballots had been scratched, or “spoiled.” Meaning that voters chose candidates that have dropped out of the race, giving them a chance to vote a second time.
