Frequently Asked Questions

Residents may register to vote online, by mail, at a self-service station, or at a Secretary of State office no later than two weeks before Election Day. Eligible citizens can register to vote or update their voter registration in person up to and on Election Day in person at the Office of the City Clerk.  

• Online at Michigan.gov/Vote: Register to vote online with their Michigan driver’s license or ID number.
• By mail: Download, print, and complete an application to register to vote, to return it to the City Clerk's Office. This form is also offered in large print.
• Self-service station: Voter registration is offered when completing a transaction at Secretary of State self-service stations across Michigan. Locate a self-service station at miselfservicestation.com.
• At a Secretary of State office: Eligible citizens will be registered to vote automatically anytime they complete a Michigan driver’s license or ID transaction, unless they opt out.
• At the City Clerk's Office: Visit the Office of the City Clerk at 7900 South Westnedge Avenue, Portage, MI 49002.

Additionally, several state agencies and military recruitment centers also provide voter registration services.  

To learn more about voter registration requirements in Michigan, visit the Michigan Secretary of State's website. 

You can register to vote at your local clerk’s office through Election Day. You must be a resident of your city or township for at least 30 days prior to the election, a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old when you will vote, and not currently serving a sentence in jail or prison.

Eligible citizens can register to vote or update their voter registration online, by mail, at a self-service station, or at a Secretary of State office up to two weeks before Election Day.  

When registering 14 days before an election and on Election Day, you must show proof of your address. The document must include your name and current address - and can be a digital copy. Acceptable documents include:  

• Michigan license or ID
• Current utility bill
• Bank statement
• Paycheck or government check
• Other government document

No. Michigan voters do not register by party affiliation.  

To update your voter registration, complete a change of address application online, by mail, at the Secretary of State office, or at the City Clerk's Office:  

• Online: Update your voter registration and address online at Michigan.gov/Vote or through Online Services.  
• By mail: Submit a Change of Address form to the Michigan Department of State.  
• In person: Update your voter registration in person at any Secretary of State office or at the Office of the City Clerk at Portage City Hall.  

Michigan voters must use the same residential address for voter registration and their driver’s license/ID. Consequently, if you change your address on your driver’s license or ID, it will automatically apply to your voter registration, and vice versa. Therefore, if the residence address you provide when registering to vote differs from the address shown on your license or ID, the Secretary of State will automatically change your license or ID address to match your address on your voter registration. The Michigan Department of State will mail you a corrected change of address sticker for your standard license or ID, or a new enhanced state ID or driver’s license with your updated address. 

Under Michigan's automatic voter registration law, when a voter updates the address on their voter registration, their address on their driver's license or state ID will also be updated. Additionally, if a change of address for a license or state ID is submitted to the Michigan Department of State, the address on the voter’s registration will also be updated. 

Learn more about Michigan driver’s licenses or IDs. 

Voters may view their sample ballot at Michigan.gov/Vote. 

You are not required to vote the entire ballot. You may pick and choose the races or ballot questions for which you want to vote. Skipping sections of the ballot does not invalidate your ballot. 

In Michigan, voters can only vote in one party column and cannot "split" their ticket (i.e., vote in more than one party column) if voting in a presidential (February) or statewide (August) primary. 

Voters may “split” their ticket in the general election (November). Per the passage of Proposal 18-3 in 2018, Michigan voters also have the option to vote straight-ticket by selecting the option on the side of their ballot with partisan races. Voting a straight ticket does not automatically include selections on the non-partisan side of the ballot. 

Registered Michigan voters may request an absentee ballot by submitting an absentee ballot application: 

• online at Michigan.gov/Vote 
• by mail
• in person at the City Clerk's Office at Portage City Hall.

To avoid the potential for mailing delays, voters who choose to request an absentee ballot are encouraged to submit their absentee ballot application no later than two weeks before Election Day.  

Voters may also request an absentee ballot in person at their local clerk’s office through 4 p.m. on the Monday before an election. 

You can track when the City Clerk mails your absentee ballot and when it is received by their office online. 

Track the status of your application 

You can also sign up to receive electronic notification on ballot status on Michigan.gov/Vote while updating your voter registration, when registering to vote for the first time, or when submitting an online ballot application. 

NOTE: If you chose to vote your absentee ballot in person at an Early Voting or Election Day location, this information will not update on Michigan.gov/Vote or send a notification if you are subscribed to notifications. Ballot tracking is limited to absent voter ballots and ballot application activity. Tracking your absentee ballot instructions 

Please return it to the City Clerk's Office by mail, in person, or at a designated absentee drop box in your city or township. 

Official City of Portage Absentee Voter Ballot Drop Box Locations are: 

• Portage Fire Station No. 2 (6101 Oakland Drive)
• Portage Fire Station No. 3 (8503 South Sprinkle Road)
• Portage City Hall (7900 South Westnedge Avenue)

To track the status of your absentee ballot, please click the following visit the Michigan Voter Information Center. 

Voters can securely track the mailing and receipt of their absentee ballot application and absentee ballot at Michigan.gov/Vote. Voters can contact the City Clerk's Office at (269) 329-4511 with questions about the mailing or receipt of their application or absentee ballot. 

You can also sign up to receive electronic notification on ballot status on Michigan.gov/Vote while updating your voter registration, when registering to for the first time vote, or when submitting an online ballot application. 

NOTE: If you chose to vote your absent ballot in person at an Early Voting or Election Day location, this information will not update on Michigan.gov/Vote or send a notification if you are subscribed to notifications. Ballot tracking is limited to absent voter ballot and ballot application activity. 

Tracking your absentee ballot instructions 

Voters who have submitted their absentee ballot application are encouraged to track their request online at Michigan.gov/Vote to ensure the City Clerk's Office received their request. The website will also securely track when a local clerk’s office sends an absentee ballot to the voter by mail and when the clerk has received the ballot back from the voter.  

Voters who have not received their absentee ballot as Election Day approaches are encouraged to visit Michigan.gov/Vote to confirm their voter registration information and address is up to date. If they confirm this is the case, they may contact the City Clerk's Office to check on the status of their absentee ballot application and requested ballot.  
 
Track the status of your absentee ballot 

Absentee ballots will be sent to a voter’s registered address unless the Clerk’s Office is otherwise notified. The United States Postal Service does not forward absentee ballots.  

Portage voters must make arrangements with the City Clerk’s Office to ensure their ballot is sent to the correct mailing address.  

Absentee Ballots can be delivered to the Office of the City Clerk at Portage City Hall or dropped in any of the Official Absentee Voter Ballot Drop Boxes located throughout the city. 

Official City of Portage Absentee Voter Ballot Drop Box Locations: 

• Portage Fire Station No. 2 (6101 Oakland Drive)
• Portage Fire Station No. 3 (8503 South Sprinkle Road)
• Portage City Hall (7900 South Westnedge Avenue)

All locations are on or near a Metro bus line.  The drop boxes are available 24/7 beginning forty days prior to an election.  

After receiving your absentee ballot, you have until 8 p.m. on Election Day to complete the ballot and return it to the City Clerk's Office. Your ballot will not be counted unless your signature is on the return envelope and matches your signature on file.  

If you receive assistance voting the ballot, then the signature of the person who helped you must also be on the return envelope. Only you, a family member or person residing in your household, a mail carrier, or an election official is authorized to deliver your signed absent voter ballot to the City Clerk's Office. 

The following individuals are legally permitted to return a voter’s absentee ballot:  

• The voter.  
• A member of the voter’s immediate family who has been asked to return the ballot. 
• A person residing in the voter’s household who has been asked to return the ballot.
• A mail carrier during the course of their official duty. 
• An authorized election official in the voter’s jurisdiction.

Voters interested in absentee voting for every election may sign up for the Permanent Ballot List.  Voters who have completed the one-time application can expect to receive an absentee ballot prior to each election.  

Status on the Permanent Absentee Ballot List is permanent unless a voter is cancelled or requests to be removed from the list. 

If you are on the Permanent Ballot List but need your ballot sent to an address other than your registered address, you must make arrangements with the City Clerk's Office. The United States Postal Service does not forward absentee ballots. 

Voters on the Permanent Ballot List who have not received their ballot should call the Office of the City Clerk at (269) 329-4511.  

Receiving an absentee ballot application does not obligate the voter to cast an absentee ballot for that election. They are still eligible to vote in-person so long as the absentee ballot is not received by the City Clerk’s Office.  

Voters with a disability who require assistance in completing their absentee ballot application may receive assistance from another person, provided that the person assisting the voter is not the voter's employer, agent of that employer, or an officer or agent of a union to which the voter belongs. The individual who provided the assistance must input their information in the provided space on the absentee ballot application.

Voters with disabilities can also request an accessible absentee ballot by submitting an accessible absentee ballot application online at Michigan.gov/Vote. When requesting an accessible absentee ballot, the voter will be emailed an electronic ballot and can mark the ballot on an electronic device, using their own assistive technology, and print and mail or otherwise return the ballot to the Clerk's Office by 8 PM on Election Day.

Voters can also download an accessible application to vote absentee and submit it to the City Clerk's Office by mail, email, or in person at Portage City Hall to request an absentee ballot in person. 
 
Accessible absentee ballot application

Learn more about accessible voting in Michigan

Additional information regarding accessible voting can be found online via this link: https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/Home/AccessibleVoting 

To learn more about the tabulators and voter assist terminals used by municipalities in Kalamazoo County, visit Elections Systems & Software. 

The polls are open from 7 AM to 8 PM for all elections. Voters who are in line at their polling location by 8 PM on Election Day may still wait in line to vote. 

Voters will be asked to present an acceptable photo ID, including: 

• Michigan driver's license or state-issued ID card
• Driver's license or personal identification card issued by another state
• Federal or state government-issued photo identification
• U.S. passport
• Military ID with photo
• Student identification with photo from a high school or accredited institution of higher learning
• Tribal identification card with photo

The ID does not need to include the voter’s address. 

Please note that voters who do not have an acceptable form of ID or failed to bring it with them to the polls still can cast a ballot and will be asked to sign a brief affidavit stating that they're not in possession of a photo ID.  

Learn more about Michigan driver’s licenses or IDs 

No. Michigan law prohibits the following within 100 feet of a polling place: 

• Campaigning for a candidate or ballot measure
• Wearing or bringing election- or campaign-related clothing or accessories
• Displaying or wearing candidate or election-related signage
• Bringing election, campaign, or partisan materials into a polling place
• Requesting signatures for or signing petitions

Michigan has prohibited the practice of displaying election-related materials at the polls for decades. This includes clothing and buttons as well as materials such as pamphlets, fliers, and stickers. If you go to the polls with a shirt or button bearing election-related images or slogans, you will be asked to cover or remove it.  

If you receive a notice of cancellation for your own voter registration, you can respond to the notification by mail or online in the following ways: 

• Request your voter registration be canceled. If you select this option, your voter registration will be canceled immediately.
• Update your voter registration. If you have moved, you can update your voter registration to your new address.
• Vote or request an absent voter ballot in an upcoming election. This will keep your voter registration active, and your registration will not be canceled.
• Do nothing. If you don’t respond and don’t have any voting activity, your registration will be canceled after the second federal (even year November) election from the time the notice is sent.

If you want to cancel your voter registration and you haven’t received a notice, you can contact the City Clerk's Office at Portage City Hall in writing and request that your registration be canceled.

Click here to complete a Cancellation Form.  Signatures must be in pen. 

If you receive election mail for someone who no longer lives at your address, you have the opportunity to assist the City Clerk's Office and the United States Postal Service in updating the voter rolls. You should write “no longer at this address” on the piece of mail and put it back in the mailbox. The U.S. Postal Service will then notify your local clerk that election mail for that registered voter has been returned as undeliverable. The clerk will then send a notice of cancellation, which will result in that registration being canceled after two federal elections have passed. 

If someone at the residence is deceased, you can write “deceased” on the piece of mail and put it back in the mailbox. If a family member in your residence has died, you can also contact your clerk in writing and inform them that the family member is deceased. You can also send an obituary or death notice to the clerk, who can use this information to cancel the voter registration, so your household no longer receives election mail for the person who has passed away. 

The State of Michigan hosts Presidential Primaries every four (4) years in the month of February. Below are some frequently asked questions about what makes this election different than others:

What is the difference between an Open Primary and a Closed Primary? 

Voters in an open primary, such as the state primary in August, are given a ballot with a column listing each qualified party’s candidates. Voters decide which party’s primary they wish to participate in by voting in the column of their party choice. Voting for candidates in more than a single party’s column will void the entire partisan section of the ballot.  

Voters in closed primaries, such as the Presidential Primary in February, must state the party’s primary they wish to participate prior to being issued a ballot. The ballot given to voters only has candidates of the party that corresponds to the voter’s choice. 

When I select a party ballot for the Presidential Primary, does that mean I have to vote in the same party primary in August?

No. The written selection made by a voter at the Presidential Primary has no bearing on how a person votes in the State Primary election. 

What if I have questions about the Presidential Primary Election? 

This election type only happens every 4 years - please visit this helpful guide or this Michigan guide. 

Why do I have to select a party ballot for the Presidential Primary?

Michigan Election Law (MCL 168.615c) guides the conduct of the Presidential Primary. The law requires that voters indicate in writing which political party ballot they wish to vote. This requirement only applies to Presidential Primary elections.

The right to vote is the basis for our democracy. People in the military and U.S. citizens living overseas have the right to cast a ballot and have their vote counted. This section provides information about voting while away from home for members of the armed forces and individuals living overseas. For more information on military and overseas voting, please visit the Michigan Department of State. 

Can a U.S. citizen currently in the military or overseas register to vote in Michigan if they have never lived in the state or country?

Yes, U.S. citizens who have never lived in the U.S. may register to vote in Michigan if they:

• Have a parent, legal guardian, or spouse whose last permanent residence (home) was located in Michigan, and
• Have not registered to vote in another state

How can registered Michigan voters serving in the military or living abroad request an absentee ballot?

Registered Michigan voters serving or living abroad can request an absentee ballot be sent to them by email, fax, or postal mail by downloading and completing a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) from the Federal Voting Assistance Program website, fvap.gov. Once completed, voters should mail, fax, or scan and email their FPCA application to the City Clerk’s Office.

To avoid possible postal delays, the Michigan Department of State advises that Michigan voters overseas return their FPCA application to the City Clerk’s Office by email or fax, rather than by mail, in order to receive their absentee ballot in time.

Explore military and overseas voting

Registered voters in Michigan using a Michigan Absent Voter Ballot Application have the option to join the permanent absentee ballot list and will receive an absentee ballot in every election going forward. However, MOVE voters must complete a FCPA every year to ensure that they are sent a ballot early enough to allow for overseas mail applications that are received after the November election will apply to all of the next year's elections.

Once an absentee ballot application has been submitted, voters can securely track the status of their absentee ballot application and the mailing of their absentee ballot online at Michigan.gov/Vote. Please note, absentee ballot applications must be received no later than 2 p.m. on the Saturday before Election Day in order to vote on Election Day.

Michigan.gov/Vote

Can military and overseas voters submit their ballots electronically?

While Michigan voters serving overseas or living abroad can elect to receive their absentee ballot electronically by email, online, or by fax, all completed absentee ballots must be returned by mail under current Michigan law. Guidance on mailing a completed absentee ballot from an overseas address is available at fvap.gov.

How can Michiganders overseas register to vote to participate on Election Day?

Michiganders who are overseas can register to vote by downloading and completing a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) or by registering online at Michigan.gov/Vote. After returning this postcard to the City Clerk’s Office by email, fax, or mail, they will be registered to vote and will receive an absentee ballot by email, fax, or mail.

You can contact the City Clerk’s Office at (269) 329-4511 or at elections@portagemi.gov.

How can military and overseas voters ensure their absentee ballot is received by Election Day?

Pursuant to state law, registered Michigan voters abroad must return their absentee ballots by mail. So long as their ballots are valid, have a matching signature, are postmarked no later than Election Day, and are received within 6 days after Election Day, they will be tabulated. The Michigan Department of State advises Michigan voters overseas to request and return their absentee ballot as early as possible. To securely track an absentee ballot and ensure it is received, voters should visit Michigan.gov/Vote

How can registered Michigan voters overseas confirm they will receive an absentee ballot in time for Election Day?

Any registered Michigan voter serving or living abroad who has registered and requested to vote by absentee ballot any time after November of the previous year will be mailed an absentee ballot for all of the current year’s elections. Those who have not yet requested an absentee ballot may do so by downloading and completing a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) from the Federal Voting Assistance Program website and return it to their City Clerk’s Office via email, mail, or fax.

Overseas voters can verify their Michigan voter registration information and confirm whether they are registered to receive an absentee ballot by visiting Michigan.gov/Vote. Once there, voters can track the status of their absentee ballot application and the mailing of their absentee ballot, as well as view contact information for the City Clerk’s Office in the event follow-up is required.

Michigan.gov/Vote

How can registered Michigan voters serving in the military or living abroad request an absentee ballot?

Registered Michigan voters serving or living abroad can request an absentee ballot be sent to them by email, fax, or postal mail by downloading and completing a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) from the Federal Voting Assistance Program website, fvap.gov. Once completed, voters should mail, fax, or scan and email their FPCA application to the City Clerk’s Office.

To avoid possible postal delays, the Michigan Department of State advises that Michigan voters overseas return their FPCA application to the City Clerk’s Office by email or fax, rather than by mail, in order to receive their absentee ballot in time.

Explore military and overseas voting

Registered voters in Michigan using a Michigan Absent Voter Ballot Application have the option to join the permanent absentee ballot list and will receive an absentee ballot in every election going forward. However, MOVE voters must complete a FCPA every year to ensure that they are sent a ballot early enough to allow for overseas mail applications that are received after the November election will apply to all of the next year's elections.

Once an absentee ballot application has been submitted, voters can securely track the status of their absentee ballot application and the mailing of their absentee ballot online at Michigan.gov/Vote. Please note, absentee ballot applications must be received no later than 2 p.m. on the Saturday before Election Day in order to vote on Election Day.

Michigan.gov/Vote

How is the Michigan Department of State ensuring the security of the absentee ballot process for Michigan voters overseas to reduce the risk of voter fraud?

Registered Michigan voters serving overseas and living abroad are subject to the same signature verification requirements as Michigan voters in the United States. A voter’s signature must match their recorded signature in the Qualified Voter File in order to be issued an absentee ballot.

Additionally, as is the case for all Michigan voters, only one ballot may be tabulated for a military or overseas voter. Michigan’s election system has a robust structure of checks and procedures to ensure no Michigan voter can cast a ballot twice. Michigan has implemented several measures to strengthen election security and integrity, which have since consistently resulted in accurate and secure election results. More information about election security measures in Michigan is the Department of State’s website.

If an overseas Michigan voter does not receive their absentee ballot in time to return it to their local clerk by Election Day, can their vote still be counted?

Military service members, their families, and civilians overseas who are registered Michigan voters and are concerned they may not receive their absentee ballot in time may complete a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) and return it to the City Clerk’s Office by mail. The FWAB is available online at fvap.gov and serves as a backup ballot in case the regular absentee ballot does not reach the local clerk’s office in time. The FWAB will also serve as voter registration for Michiganders abroad who are eligible to register to vote and request an absentee ballot for future elections.

If both the FWAB emergency ballot and the requested absentee ballot are returned to the clerk in time, only the requested ballot will be tabulated.

Overseas voters can download an FWAB and view instructions on completing and returning the write-in absentee ballot by visiting the Federal Voting Assistance Program website. Write-in absentee ballots must be returned by mail to the City Clerk’s Office.

Please note, all valid absentee ballots with a matching signature that are postmarked by Election Day and received within 6 days after Election Day will be tabulated.