A sign directs voters to the polling place at the Houghton City Center on Saturday, the first of nine days for early in-person voting. (Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette)

HOUGHTON — The August debut of in-person early voting was slow in Houghton County: 81 voters spread across 81 hours. 

As Clerk Jennifer Kelly said after Saturday’s eight-hour whirlwind, “the general election is a different story.”

“We had people waiting before 8 o’clock,” she said. “We had lines almost to the elevator all day. The workers did not even get breaks.”

Houghton County’s polling place at the Houghton City Center drew 307 people Saturday, the first of nine days of early voting before Election Day on Nov. 5. 

Kelly said things had gone smoothly Saturday. The only hiccups were cases where a worker had accidentally printed out the wrong Torch Lake Township precinct for a Lake Linden resident, and another case where a voter received a Precinct 1 ballot for Hancock instead of Houghton. Both problems were caught in time and the voter was supplied with the correct ballot, Kelly said. 

In 2022, Michigan voters approved an amendment to the state constitution creating an early voting period of at least nine days before statewide and local elections. Counties and local jurisdictions can also provide early voting for local elections.

Houghton County’s trend was reflected statewide. More than 145,000 voters cast ballots on the first day of statewide early voting, already eclipsing the 79,000 early voters from the August primary. 

Municipalities have the option of creating early voting periods of up to 28 days. Detroit, East Lansing and Canton Township — the only three municipalities where early voting began before Saturday — had accounted for about 13,000 votes, according to state figures.

The nine-day period ends on Nov. 3, two days before Election Day. 

Early voting sites in the Copper Country are:

• Baraga County: L’Anse Township Hall, 126 N. Main Street, L’Anse. Open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Houghton County: Houghton City Center, 616 Shelden Ave., Houghton. Open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

• Keweenaw County: Eagle Harbor Township Hall, 321 Center St., Eagle Harbor. Open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

• Ontonagon County: Community Building, 311 N. Steel St., Ontonagon. Open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Eligible Michigan citizens can still register to vote in person up to 8 p.m. on Nov. 5 with proof of residency at their city or township clerk’s office. Voters can register and cast a ballot on the same day.