Option #1: Absentee Voting

• Step 1: You must apply for an absentee ballot by filling out a Permanent Absentee Ballot Application. Voters who want to automatically receive a ballot for all future elections must sign up for the Permanent Absentee Voter List. See section below on how to receive an application and apply for the Permanent Absentee Voter List.
• Step 2: Return your absentee ballot using one of the following methods:
  • Mail to the Meridian Township Clerk’s Office at 5151 Marsh Rd, Okemos, MI 48864. No postage is needed and ballots must be received by 8:00 pm on Election Day.
  • Drop off at one of four ballot drop boxes listed above by 8:00 pm on election day at one of the following locations (each drop box is secured to ground with 24/7 video surveillance).
  • Vote absentee ballot through the tabulator inside the Town Hall Room at the Meridian Municipal Building at 5151 Marsh Road, Okemos on any one of the 9 days prior to Election Day except the Monday before.

Option #2: In-Person Early Voting

All qualified, verified, registered voters have the option to vote early. For the November 5, 2024 general election, early voting will be available from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm starting on Saturday, October 26 and lasting through Sunday, November 3. 

Meridian Township’s early voting site is the Town Hall Room of the Meridian Township Municipal Building (5151 Marsh Road, Okemos).

An early voting site operates similarly to a polling location that voters would use on Election Day. Early voters will be issued a ballot where they will cast their vote and insert it into the tabulator at the early voting site. Anyone voting with an absentee ballot can also return their ballot to the early voting site.

Early voting is available for 9 consecutive days prior to the Monday before Election Day. Early voting dates for 2024 are as follows:

• Tuesday, November 5 | General Election
  • (Early voting is available from Saturday, October 26 to Sunday, November 3)

Option #3: Vote on Election Day at your Polling Location

All qualified, verified, registered voters have the option to vote in-person on Election Day.

Find your polling location at mi.gov/vote.

Your Voter Information Card issued in 2022 to all voters in Meridian Township has your polling location listed on it. If you need a new card, email ClerksOffice@meridian.mi.us.

With the passage of Proposal 2022-2, voters have a new constitutional right in Michigan to automatically get a ballot mailed to them for every election, beginning in 2024.

To sign up, voters must complete a one-time Permanent Mail Ballot application.

Voters can receive a Permanent Mail Ballot application by emailing the Clerk's Office at ClerksOffice@meridian.mi.us or visiting the Clerk's Office in-person at 5151 Marsh Road, Okemos. Voters can also apply to the Permanent Mail Ballot List online at the Michigan Voter Information Center website. This portal will be available to voters within 75 days of an election for which they are eligible to vote. 

Meridian Township voters can return their completed application form to the Clerk's Office via email at ClerksOffice@meridian.mi.us or by mail at ATTN: Clerk's Office, 5151 Marsh Road, Okemos, MI 48864. 

Once the Clerk’s Office has received the application, voters will automatically receive their ballot to their home or mailing address they provided.

To apply for an absent voter ballot for a single election, fill out and sign the form below:

Michigan Absent Voter Ballot Application

These forms can be mailed to the Clerk's Office at 5151 Marsh Road, Okemos, MI, 48864 or by dropping it off in one of the Township’s four drop box locations.

Voters can check their polling location on the State of Michigan Voter Information website at https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us/Voter/Index.

Polling Location Maps: 

• 2024 Precinct and Polling Location Map
• 2024 Detailed Precinct and Polling Location Map (GIS)

Legal Notices Page 

Any qualified resident of Meridian Township who is not already registered to vote may do so at the Meridian Township Clerk’s Office, Ingham County Clerk’s Office, or the Michigan Voter Information Center at www.michigan.gov/VoterRegistration.

Register to vote at the Township Clerk’s Office any time Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, located inside the Meridian Township Municipal Building (5151 Marsh Road, Okemos).

To print and mail a voter registration form:

• Michigan Voter Registration Form
• Large Print Voter Registration Application Form

You can fill out and mail a completed voter registration form to:

Deborah Guthrie
Meridian Township Clerk
5151 Marsh Road
Okemos, MI 48864

Voter Registration Deadlines: 

• Residents can register to vote online or in-person up to 15 days prior to an election.
  • East Lansing Public Schools Special Election Deadline | Monday, May 22
  • Primary Election Deadline | Monday, July 22
  • General Election Deadline | Monday, October 21
• If it is 14 days or less before Election day, you must register in-person at the Clerk's Office and provide proof of residency.

Election inspectors are needed in 2024 and are a valuable piece of our democracy, ensuring free and fair elections for all. Serving as an election inspector is a paid position which includes training on proper election procedures. Election inspectors will receive $15 per hour worked and $25 per mandatory training class they attend.

Any registered Michigan voter over the age of 18 is eligible to work an election. Serve your community and be a part of the democratic process. Any Inspector ages 16 or 17 may also work an election until 10:00 pm.

• Election Inspector Application
• Election Inspector Resources 
• State of Michigan Election Inspector Overview
• State of Michigan Election Inspector Training Manual
• Absentee Voter Counting Boards Training Video

Election Inspector Application Forms can be emailed to Meridian Township Clerk, Deborah Guthrie at guthrie@meridian.mi.us or mailed or dropped off at 5151 Marsh Road, Okemos, MI. 48864. Call 517.853.4324 with any questions regarding this process. 

Ingham County Approved Challenger Credentials 

Notice to Challengers for the General Election to be Held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 in Meridian Township: 

• Notice is hereby given, that 2 (two) challengers from each qualified County approved political party and organization will be permitted in the Absent Voter Counting Board (AVCB) located at 2|42 Community Center, 2630 Bennett Rd., Okemos, MI 48864 on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
• Notice is hereby given, that during processing and tabulation prior to Election Day on Monday, November 4, 2024, that 2 (two) challengers from each qualified County approved political party and organization will be permitted at the 2|42 Community Center, 2630 Bennett Rd., Okemos, MI 48864.
• Challengers serving at an AVCB may not enter the facility until they have taken the oath and signed a document acknowledging the oath. Any person who violates this oath is guilty of a felony. By law, a challenger may not photograph, or audio or video record within a facility, with exception of posted election results. Please contact the Township Clerk’s Office regarding AVCB challengers at 517.853.4324.

• Clerk's Office Voter Information Guide
• Pre-Processing Notice
• Early Voting FAQs
• Free CATA Rides
• Sample Ballot
• Clerk's Office Guide to Voter Changes
• Michigan Voter Information Center
• Ingham County Clerk's Office Election Results
• Military and Overseas Voter Information
• Student Voter Information 
• Accessibility and Accommodations

How will address change requests be handled and/or monitored between a voter's former and new locations? 

Voter addresses will transfer through the Qualified Voter File, Michigan's maintained voter database, which houses all of the information on past and present voters. This is done through voter registration or change of address forms. If a voter moves out of state, it is their responsibility to update their voter registration status with the clerk, though this is also done through Secretary of State Driver’s License imports.

In situations where a voter moves out of the country, they are legally allowed to vote at their last address in the United States. The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) website provides more information for this circumstance: https://www.fvap.gov/michigan.

What happens if a voter moves to a new location or decides to stop voting and never notifies a Clerk's office?

After two general election cycles pass without voting or without any actions taken by the voter, the voter will be marked as inactive in the Qualified Voter File, Michigan's maintained voter database, and scheduled for cancellation.

Why does the absentee ballot application only require certification of statements made in the application via a signature?  How are voter signatures verified?

A voter is attesting that their statements are true, that they are a US citizen, and that they are registered at the address that is provided when they sign the application. This voter’s signature is then verified by trained staff in our Qualified Voter File, Michigan's maintained voter database.