(Source: MIRS.news, Published 10/11/2024) Democrats across the state are more likely to have turned in their absentee ballots than the Republicans who have requested them, according to early returns examined by Mark Grebner of Practical Political Data (PPD).

Grebner said he's not reading much into the trend, other than to say that this is consistent across the state.

“Whether you look at Macomb, Kentwood, Traverse City, Filer Township, Pewamo or Au Gres, the Republicans are just over one day behind the Democrats, on average,” he said. “The gap is slowly growing."

As of Thursday, 30% of the 1.1 million ballots to likely Democratic voters have been returned. In comparison, 25% of the AV ballots sent to voters PPD presumes are Republicans have voted.

Grebener said Democrats have tended to turn in their absentee ballots earlier before but: “I don't believe it's been this sharp. We didn't see this in the primary."

In the primary, he said Republicans turned in their absentee ballots at a faster rate and actually outperformed Democrats at the polls in that election. The opposite is true now.

Overall, 1.8 million absentee ballots have been sent out. If roughly the same 5.5 million Michiganders cast ballots in the 2024 election, 11 percent of voters have already cast ballots. He said the ballots are coming at roughly 70,000 to 80,000 a day.