Requesting an Absent Voter Ballot

You must be a registered voter to receive an absent voter ballot. Your request for an absent voter ballot must be in writing and submitted to your City Clerk. Requests to have an absent voter ballot mailed to you must be received by your clerk no later than 5 p.m. the Friday before the election. 

Ways to apply for a ballot:

  • Apply online through the Michigan Voter Information Center
  • To request an application by mail, contact the City Clerk's office at 248-347-0456.
  • Visit us on the 2nd floor of the Civic Center to apply in person

You can deliver signed applications by one of the following methods:

  • Place in a secure City of Novi drop box (see below), or  
  • Scan or take a photo of the signed application and email it to the Elections email account, or
  • Mail the application after affixing the necessary postage, or
  • Fax the completed application to 248-347-0577, or
  • Any member of the immediate family of the voter may mail or deliver the application to the office of the City Clerk, or
  • In the event an applicant cannot return the application in any of the above methods, the applicant may select any registered elector to return the application. The person returning the application must sign and return a Certificate of Authorized Registered Elector Returning Absentee Ballot Application on the back of the Absentee ballot application.

Once your request is received by the City Clerk, your signature on the application will be checked against your voter registration signature before a ballot is issued. If your signature is not a good likeness to the version on your voter registration, a member of the City Clerk’s office will attempt to contact you via phone, email, and/or letter.  Only the requestor may sign the application. Election law does not allow for anyone other than the registered voter to sign.

If an emergency, such as a sudden illness or family death prevents you from reaching the polls on Election Day, you may request an emergency absent voter ballot. Requests for an emergency ballot must be submitted after the deadline for regular absent voter ballots has passed but before 4:00pm on Election Day. The emergency must have occurred at a time which made it impossible for you to apply for a regular absent voter ballot. Please contact your City Clerk for more information about emergency absent voter ballots.


Absentee Ballot

Returning an Absent Voter Ballot

After receiving your absent voter ballot, you have until 8:00pm on Election Day to complete the ballot and return it to the Clerk's Office. Voters are strongly encouraged to submit their voted ballot as soon as it’s completed. Your ballot will not be counted unless your signature is on the return envelope and is a good likeness to the signature on file. If you received assistance voting the ballot, then the signature of the person who helped you must also be on the return envelope. Only you, a family member or person residing in your household, a mail carrier, or election official is authorized to deliver signed absent voter ballots to the City Clerk's office.
 
You can deliver your completed and signed ballots by one of the following methods:

  1. Place in a City of Novi drop box (see below), or  
  2. Mail the ballot - no postage required, or
  3. Any member of the immediate family of the voter may mail or deliver the ballot to the City Clerk’s office.

While we understand people would like to assist their friends and neighbors in this process, it is illegal to offer to return, agree to return, or solicit to return an absent voter ballot to the City Clerk. It is a violation of Michigan election law for any person other than the voter, a member of their immediate family, or a person whose job it is to handle mail to be in possession of a voted or unvoted ballot. 

Utilize one of our drop boxes!

Click here for a map of our drop box locations.

Indoor Ballot Box   Outdoor Ballot Box
This indoor drop box is located in the atrium and is visible when you enter the Civic Center.   This outside drop box is in the parking lot behind the Civic Center building in the northeast corner (near the police station).  Please follow the signs.
Ballot box at front desk   Ballot box outside Civic Center
This indoor drop box is affixed to the front counter in the Civic Center.   This outside drop box is on the pathway as you approach the entrance of the Civic Center.

Three additional drop boxes have been installed throughout the community. They are located at:

  1. Lakeshore Park – 601 S Lake Dr.
  2. Fire Station #3 – 42785 9 Mile Rd.
  3. Fire Station #4 – 49375 W. 10 Mile Rd.

Photo ID Requirement

Residents who wish to obtain an absentee ballot in person, please see photo ID requirement below:

As a result of legislation enacted in 2012 (PA 523 of 2012), voters who obtain an absent voter ballot in person are also required to comply with the picture identification requirement. If a voter is not in possession of picture ID, they may sign the same Affidavit of Voter not in Possession of Picture Identification form that is used in the polls on Election Day. AV ballots from voters that obtain a ballot in person and do not provide picture identification and sign the affidavit form must be processed as a challenged ballot on Election Day.

Use of a Signature Stamp

Public Act 79 of 2014 amends the Michigan Election Law to permit a physically disabled voter who is unable to sign his or her name due to the physical disability to use a signature stamp on a voter registration application or an election document.  Current law only permits the voter to make his or her mark on the aforementioned documents.  The new Act further defines that an election document includes, but is not limited to, all of the following: a voter application; an absent voter ballot application; an emergency absent voter ballot application; and an absent voter ballot return envelope.

In November 2022, voters approved Proposal 2022-2 which gives voters the right to cast a ballot early and in person at an Early Voting Site before Election Day. The City of Novi is partnering with Oakland County Elections to host an Early Voting Site at the Novi Civic Center for all elections. The EV Site will allow for voters in the City of Novi, Novi Township, and City of Northville to cast their ballot in-person from Saturday, April 27th through Sunday, May 5th. Hours of operation will be from 8:30am-4:30pm each day, except Thursday, May 2nd, the hours will be from 12pm-8pm.

The closing of the polls for the Early Voting tabulator and voter assist terminal will occur at the Novi Civic Center, 45175 Ten Mile Road, Novi, MI 48375 after 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 7th.

For additional information regarding early voting, visit the Michigan Department of State Early in-person voting page.

Early Voting

Precincts are open on Election Day from 7:00 am – 8:00 pm. To verify your voter registration and precinct location, please visit the Michigan Voter Information Center.

A list of all Precincts and Polling Locations is available here.

You will be asked to show photo ID when you check in to vote. If you don’t have a form of photo ID on you, you can still vote.

If this happens, expect a poll worker to ask you to sign a form before you vote that explains you didn’t have an ID. Your ballot will be included with all others and counted on Election Day.

ID types you can use to check in are:

  • Michigan driver's license or state ID
  • Driver's license or personal identification card issued by another state
  • Federal or state government-issued photo identification
  • U.S. passport
  • Military ID with photo
  • Student identification with photo from a high school or accredited institution of higher learning
  • Tribal identification card with photo

For additional information regarding in-person election day voting, visit the Michigan Department of state Vote in person Page.