Hello, my fellow Michiganders. 

Michigan is different from a lot of states in that some of the bigger down-ballot races — secretary of state, attorney general, trustees for the big universities — see their candidates chosen by delegates at a convention. 

Endorsement conventions vary ever so slightly between the major parties, but the crux is that a relatively small group of particularly dedicated party members (known as delegates, typically representing their county or district) vote for their favorites of the candidates in each of the races. A candidate has to win a majority — 50% plus one vote — of the delegate vote to be nominated to the November ballot. If no one wins a majority in a specific race, the candidate with the least votes is eliminated, and the delegates vote again on that race.

(If this sounds similar to my explainer last year on ranked-choice voting, it kind of is! Except instead of happening in a single ballot, delegates start over in whichever races didn’t get a majority.)

Republicans selected their SOS candidate, Macomb County Clerk Anthony Forlini, late last month. On Sunday, we’ll learn who Forlini is up against in what is likely to be a very tight race when Democrats choose their own candidates for office.

I interviewed the candidates on some of the biggest election-related issues earlier this year, if you’d like to see who is up. And, of course, I’ll write up whoever wins — their platform, their history, anything else you might need to know about them.

Gubernatorial candidates, meanwhile, will be selected by primary voters in August. Then you’ll see the whole ticket together on your ballots in November, regardless of your party affiliation. 

Have other questions about elections in Michigan? Send ‘em along to me at [email protected] — I’ll do my best to answer them, and who knows! Maybe it’ll even inspire a future newsletter or story.

And if you know anyone else who might like to learn more about voting in the best state in the country, encourage them to subscribe to the Votebeat Michigan newsletter. We have fun here.

If nothing else, I can guarantee you it is the only newsletter that would feature this specific picture of my sweet bunny, Puff, digging treats out of a ball pit. (That’s right. Subscribers get EXCLUSIVE, never-before-seen rabbit pictures.)

You're invited: How the 2000 election set the stage for 2026

The 2000 presidential election didn’t just decide a presidency — it reshaped the way America runs elections. Join us on April 23 for a virtual conversation with election law scholar Rick Hasen and long-time Florida election administrator Paul Lux. Together, they’ll explore how the crisis in Florida led to the creation of the Help America Vote Act, the modernization of voter rolls, the birth of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, and a lasting debate over the federal government’s role in elections.

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