Skip To Content
Skip To Navigation


 

Question:





Can I vote if I don't have ID

with me at the polls?

Answer:

Photo Id

You may have heard that Michigan has a new voter ID law. It’s true that all voters will be asked to show ID at the polls, so you should bring a photo ID if you have it, but you can vote even if you don’t bring ID to the polls. You just have to fill out an affidavit (a statement that you swear is true) and you’ll be allowed to vote a regular ballot.

You can show any of the following kinds of photo ID at the polls:

  • Michigan driver’s license or personal ID card (you should show this if you have it)
  • A driver’s license or personal ID card issued by another state
  • Other photo ID given out by the federal government or a state government
  • A U.S. passport.
  • A military ID card, if it has a photo
  • A student ID card, if it has a photo, from a high school or any accredited institution of higher education
  • A tribal ID card, if it has a photo

Again, if you don’t have ID with you when you go to vote, you can fill out an affidavit and vote just like everyone else.

What to Expect at the Polls

On Election Day, when you go to your polling place, you should make sure you’re at the right precinct—the one printed on your voter registration card. You’ll fill out a small form called an “Application to Vote,” and once you’re checked in by the poll workers, you’ll be given a ballot. You’ll take your ballot into a booth and fill it out using a pen or pencil—it’ll either have bubbles like a Scantron test, or you’ll have to “complete the arrow” to point to the candidates you’re voting for.

Once you’re done with your ballot, you’ll put your ballot into a “secrecy sleeve” to hide who you voted for, and then you’ll take it over to the tabulator, which is the machine that counts your votes. You’ll slide the ballot into the machine—like buying a soda with a dollar bill. The tabulator automatically counts your votes.

Special Rule For First-Time Voters

If you are voting for the first time in Michigan, and you registered by mail or through a campaign or other voter registration drive, you might have to show ID at the polls under a special requirement of federal law.

You will only have to show ID under this law if the state can’t match up your driver’s license number or the last four digits of your Social Security number with existing records. Only a very small number of people are affected by this law.