Step 1: Register to vote in the City of Marquette!
First, check to see if you are already registered to vote. If you are not, or if you are registered in a different town but you will have lived in the City limits for 30 days before Election Day, you can register to vote in the City of Marquette by going to the City Clerk’s office at 300 W Baraga Ave.
You must be a U.S. citizen & 18 years old by Election Day, and bring proof of your identity and residency to the City Clerk’s office, such as a driver’s license, current bank statement or utility bill, a U.S. passport, or a military, tribal, or student photo ID. Registering to vote does NOT result in higher taxes or provide the government any information about you that it does not already have.
You can also register to vote by mail by printing and completing this form. Once you’ve filled out your registration form, place it in a stamped envelope addressed to “Marquette City Clerk, 300 W Baraga Ave., Marquette, MI 49855.” You can also register to vote on the spot whenever you’re doing any business at the Michigan Secretary of State’s office – just ask them about it!
Finally, even if you are reading this post on Election Day, it’s not too late to vote! You can now register to vote in Michigan up until polls close at 8pm on Election Day – just bring proof of your identity and residency to the City Clerk’s office!
Step 2, Option A: Vote in-person at the polls.
To vote in-person, you will need to go to the polling place for your precinct between 7am & 8pm on Election Day – if you arrive by 8pm, you MUST be allowed to vote even if you have to wait in line. You can look at this precinct map of the City of Marquette to learn what precinct you live in and where your polling place is. In Michigan, you need to bring a photo ID with you to the polls – if you forget it, you can still cast a provisional ballot by signing an affidavit of identity, and poll workers will verify your identity against the City voter file before counting your vote.
Step 2, Option B: Vote by absentee ballot.
You can now vote by absentee ballot for any reason in Michigan. Voting absentee is much more convenient, and it is just as secure as voting in-person. You can easily request an absentee ballot for the upcoming election by going to Vote.org and filling out their absentee ballot request form, or you can request an absentee ballot from the Marquette City Clerk in-person or by simply calling the Clerk at (906) 228-0430.
Once you receive your absentee ballot in the mail, fill it out and mail it back to the Marquette City Clerk in the absentee ballot return envelope provided by the City Clerk – make sure to put a stamp on the return envelope, and mail it back at least a week before Election Day to make sure it arrives on time! You can also drop off your absentee ballot at the City Clerk’s office, or in one of the convenient and secure absentee ballot drop boxes outside City Hall on Baraga Avenue or the Municipal Service Center on Wright Street. It is also possible to request, fill out, and immediately submit an absentee ballot at the City Clerk’s office anytime before polls close on Election Day – when I did this in 2020, I was in and out of the City Clerk’s office in 2 minutes.
Step 3 (OPTIONAL): Get on the Permanent Absentee Voter list.
To make it easier to vote in the future, once you are registered to vote in the City of Marquette you can ask the City Clerk to place you on the Permanent Absentee Voter list. Being a Permanent Absentee Voter does NOT prevent you from voting in-person if you choose, but it does guarantee that you will automatically receive an absentee ballot request form in the mail before every single election. Even if you usually vote in-person, this can be a helpful reminder that an election is coming up. I have been on the Permanent Absentee Voter list since 2019, and I would encourage everyone else to get on the list as well – indeed, this has become an increasingly popular option, with the City of Marquette’s Permanent Absentee Voter list expanding from only about 1,300 voters in 2019 to over 5,000 (about one-third of all registered City voters) in 2021.