Easy to use, online tool helps voters safely, securely cast absentee ballots
LANSING–Voters Not Politicians and All Voting Is Local today launched www.MichiganDropbox.com, a free, easy-to-use online tool for Michigan voters to locate a secure drop box location or their local clerk’s office to cast their absentee ballots in the general election.
“Our citizen-led organization is committed to protecting our state and Michigan voters from partisan misinformation intended to disenfranchise and suppress voters,” said Nancy Wang, Executive Director of Voters Not Politicians. “Voting by absentee ballot is safe, secure, and convenient. The fact that Michigan has already seen historic levels of absentee ballot requests shows that voters in our state are seeing through the partisan rhetoric.”
“One option for voters is to drop off their absentee ballot in person rather than mailing it back. We created the drop box locator to make it easy for voters to locate a secure drop box in their city or township, knowing that more Michiganders will vote absentee if they find it convenient and are confident that their vote will be counted,” Wang continued.
The drop box locator tool was created to support those choosing to vote with an absentee ballot this year, especially first-time absentee voters, young voters, and historically disenfranchised voters in Detroit and other cities, who instead might choose to vote in-person despite COVID-19 risks or choose to not vote at all. The VNP Volunteer Advisory Council led the effort to ensure this tool would be available to voters across the state.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Voters Not Politicians in this effort to help voters quickly and easily find a secure absentee ballot drop box in their local communities,” said Aghogho Edevbie, Michigan state director of All Voting Is Local. “With millions of Michigan voters receiving absentee ballots for this election, this collaborative tool is crucial for getting voters information about the safe and secure options voters have to cast their ballots early.”
So far, clerks have installed over 1,000 drop boxes across the state, and more are being added every day, which will be updated on MichiganDropBox.com leading up to the election. Voters Not Politicians is also investing advertising dollars to communicate directly with voters about drop box locations in their area.