Can I Change My Vote After Voting Early?

In certain circumstances, such as a candidate dropping out of the race, you may want to make a change to the ballot you submitted early. Read more below on the proper procedure to “spoil” your ballot.

(Information below is taken from the michigan.gov page about early voting.)


Once a ballot has been inserted into a tabulator, it cannot be changed.

Voters who complete and submit an absent voter ballot by mail, in person at a local clerk’s office, or via drop box, have the option to change their vote by spoiling their original ballot and requesting a new one:

  • The deadline for spoiling a returned absentee ballot is 5 p.m. on the second Friday before the election.
  • The deadline for spoiling an unreturned absentee ballot and receiving another by mail is the Friday immediately before the election at 5 p.m.
  • The deadline to spoil and receive another in-person absentee ballot is the day before the election at 4 p.m.

Voters who insert their absentee ballot into a tabulator at an early voting site cannot spoil their ballot or change their vote.