Michigan
Michigan
GradeB-
Year2025
TierTop Tier

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Responsive Gov’s Grade TL;DR

Michigan refrained from significant election reforms this year. While the session yielded new funding for future administrative needs, the friction surrounding the budget leaves some previously allocated funds in jeopardy. This mix of legislative stagnation and financial risk resulted in a B-.

Looking Back

Where Michigan Started at the Beginning of 2025

  • Automatic Voter Registration: Secure AVR
  • Online Voter Registration: OVR+
  • Same-Day Registration: Yes
  • Restoration of Rights: Prison Disenfranchisement
  • Vote by Mail: No-Excuse
  • Electronic Registration Information Center Member: Yes
  • Early Voting Opportunities: Regular Ballot Early Voting
  • ID Requirements: ID Requested, but not Required

Relying on the Cost of Voting Index for Michigan as of 2024, we considered the state a top tier state for pre-existing voting policy and compared its 2025 activity against other top tier states.

How Our Tier Compares

  • COVI (2024): 12th
  • EPI Score (2022): 2nd

2025: This Past Year

The Michigan Legislature continued to invest in election administration in its FY 2026 budget. However, some previously-allocated election funding remains in jeopardy.

  • HB 4576, the FY 2026 budget, includes $28.6 million for election staff support and voter services, $9.6 million for election security, and a $5 million boost to the Election Equipment Reserve Fund.
  • In December, the House Appropriations Committee rescinded funding for several projects authorized during past budget cycles, including over $7 million to update election equipment. An attorney general opinion has since reauthorized the spending, but the funding’s future is uncertain as the House is challenging the attorney general’s decision in court.

    • Implementation Action

  • The Michigan Department of State is working to implement secure automatic voter registration and an improved online voter registration system, available to Michiganders who lack state-issued ID (such as active duty military, recent transplants, or college students who grew up elsewhere).
    • Download the Report