We’re tackling a critical question on all of our minds: How long will it take before we know the results of the presidential election here in Michigan?

Many voters are anxious to know when they can expect the results. Michigan has a history of close races and this year is no exception.

I spoke with voters, the Southfield City Clerk’s Office, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Oakland University Professor Dave Dulio to find out when we should see these results.

Election officials are preparing for a high turnout on Election Day, and voters across the state are preparing to make their voices heard.

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“I would maybe expect a day like midnight, if at all.” said voter Arleth Lopez.

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“Just from what I’ve heard through social media, friends and colleagues, it’s not until Tuesday evening, it could be until Saturday.” said voter Samantha Chandler.

Here in Michigan, voters can vote in three ways: absentee voting, early voting or simply voting in person.

Brandon Cardenas plans to vote on Election Day but would like to know the results sooner rather than later.

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“I expect to know the results within a week,” Cardenas said. “I would love to know the day, that would be perfect.”

Nearly 3.1 million Michigan residents voted by mail, and 1.2 million of the nearly seven million registered Michigan voters voted early.

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“Elections are a marathon. No sprint.”

Southfield City Clerk Janet Jackson says her team is working around the clock and has been preparing for this election for months.

“We have been working for months to ensure this is a smooth Election Day in terms of recruiting staff for our polls,” Jackson said. “Sometime late election night we should have results for our city and our voters.”

According to Secretary Benson, we may see some preliminary results on election night rather than the day before after we revise the way we count and the time it takes.

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“We’ll see how things develop. I am optimistic that we will have these unofficial results sooner than 2020,” Benson said.

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“Michigan is not like other states because we have 1,500 officials administering this election,” said Dave Dulio, a politics professor at Oakland University. “This is not a centralized process.”

Previous elections in Michigan have experienced delays due to the high number of mail-in ballots, but a change in the law that allows poll workers to count mail-in ballots nine days early gives poll workers more time. According to Professor Dulio, timelines for official results are still uncertain.

“We really don’t know how quickly this will be done,” Dulio said.

Voters I spoke to are concerned about when they will know the final results and whether there may be delays.

“It’s good to know now instead of living in fear and saying, ‘Oh my God, who’s going to win?’ instead of waiting nervously,” Arleth said.

“I don’t love it,” Samantha said. “I would like to know the results sooner.”

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