Hi there, Michiganders and general fans of the American Midwest.

We made it through Election Day here in Michigan! It was certainly a late night, but the election itself was relatively uneventful (or at least, less eventful than what my colleague Alex Shur covered over in Wisconsin during their primary this week).

We know who won the big races, and we are one step closer to November. You may be asking: What now? My friends, it’s Canvassing Season.

Canvassing is an essential part of Michigan’s elections. At their core, canvasses are where four officials (two Democrats, two Republicans) get together, tabulate any cured ballots, add up the votes, and confirm that the unofficial election results are what we thought. It’s the process that makes them official, in fact!

We canvass at the county and state levels here in Michigan. Most of the time, it’s an uneventful process, particularly because canvassers are required by law to confirm the election results. If they refuse to — which can happen, as it did in 2020, though it is very rare — they can face potential legal penalties or even civil lawsuits. 

But the process is also critically important. It’s when we discover things such as the 800 ballots left off of unofficial results on election night in Canton, for instance, or when, like last year in Hamtramck, we figure out who will be declared the winner in a particularly close race.

County canvasses are ongoing, though some places are already done. County canvassers need to be finished by Tuesday, and the statewide canvass is scheduled for the following Monday. 

From there, our candidates will be pretty locked in — absentee ballots for November will start going out Sept. 19. 

Strap in, Michigan. We’re really just getting started.

If you have questions or concerns about election administration, reach out to me! I’m at [email protected]. And if you know someone who might enjoy getting dispatches about elections from the best state in the U.S., encourage them to subscribe to the Votebeat Michigan newsletter right here.

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