WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — A West Michigan clerk is explaining what happens to absentee ballots once they make it back to her office.

Data compiled by the Michigan Secretary of State’s Office shows that more than 1.3 million absentee ballots for the Nov. 5 election had already been returned to clerks as of Thursday morning.

“At the moment, over 12,000 absentee ballots have been issued to Wyoming voters and we’re quickly approaching about 7,000 returned,” Wyoming City Clerk Kelli VandenBerg told News 8 Thursday.

That’s a huge difference from just two previous presidential elections ago. Absentee voting exploded in popularity after Michigan voters OK’d no-reason absentee voting in 2018 and then the pandemic changed voting habits in 2020.

“Going back to 2016, we might’ve had 5,000 absentee ballots returned,” VandenBerg said.

So what happens when someone fills out a ballot and sends it to their local clerk’s office?

“First and foremost, we’re organizing them by precinct and by ballot number, and then our team divides them and we’re scanning them into the qualified voter file, which is the state of Michigan’s online voter database,” VandenBerg said.

At that point, she continued, election workers will begin verifying signatures, date stamping and storing ballots securely until they can be processed.

“They are secured in a locked room. So there’s limited access to that,” VandenBerg said. “Clerk’s office staff only, from the point that ballot is received until it’s processed by the absentee counting board.”

From Oct. 28 to Oct. 31, the city of Wyoming will begin preprocessing and tabulating absentee ballots, thanks to changes in Michigan law. The work will resume on Election Day, but no one will know the results until after polls close at 8 p.m.

For people who may be hesitant to vote absentee, VanderBerg shared the following message.

“I would encourage them to talk to their local clerk’s office, maybe engage in the process by becoming an election inspector,” VandenBerg said.

She also said the option to show up at your precinct — either during the early in-person voting period beginning Saturday or on Election Day — is always available.

“I’m glad to have opportunities for voters and encourage them to find what works,” VandenBerg said.

If you’re voting absentee, you’re advised to return your ballot either using a drop box in your jurisdiction or in person at your clerk’s office this close to Election Day. You can also bring your absentee ballot to a polling location and run it through a tabulator during early voting or on Election Day.

Voters can check the status of their absentee application or ballot return online at michigan.gov/vote.