Michigan Voter Guide: Every Deadline, Drop Box and Local Race for Nov. 3

We’ve collected the information you need to vote this November 3. Scroll to see Michigan statewide rules and races, Wayne County contests and millages, then Dearborn-specific ballot return details and local school, county, and legislative races. The deadline that will not bend is 8 p.m. on Nov. 3: a completed absentee ballot must reach the clerk’s office or an official drop box by then, or it is not counted.

Michigan: Statewide Voting Rules and Races

Here are the statewide rules that apply everywhere in Michigan, including Dearborn.

• Drop boxes: Michigan law requires at least one state-funded drop box per municipality, open 24 hours a day during the 40 days before the election, so a ballot can be dropped around any shift.
• Absentee deadline: Completed absentee ballots must reach the clerk’s office or an official drop box by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 to be counted.

There are two statewide proposals on the ballot:

• Proposal 2026-1 asks whether to convene a constitutional convention of elected delegates to consider revising the Michigan Constitution — a question that appears every 16 years.
• Proposal 2026-2, the Money Out of Politics initiative, would ban regulated electric and gas utilities from contributing to candidates or officeholders, extend that restriction to businesses with more than $250,000 a year in state or local government contracts, and expand disclosure rules to electioneering and internet and AI communications.

The statewide slate:

• Governor: Jocelyn Benson (D) vs. John James (R)
• U.S. Senate: Abdul El-Sayed (D) vs. Mike Rogers (R)
• Attorney General: Eli Savit (D) vs. Doug Lloyd (R)
• Secretary of State: Garlin Gilchrist II (D) vs. Anthony Forlini (R)

The U.S. Senate race is for an open seat because incumbent Gary Peters (D) is retiring.

Wayne County: Countywide Rules and Races

Wayne County voters follow the same statewide absentee and Election Day procedures. The county-specific part of the ballot adds the executive race, county commission seats, and three millage requests.

The Wayne County Executive race has three candidates:

• Warren C. Evans (Democrat)
• Michael A. Evans (Republican)
• John Olumba (no party affiliation)

Michael A. Evans ran unopposed in the Aug. 4, 2026 county Republican primary and received 65,448 votes, with 245 write-ins.

Dearborn is split across Wayne County Commission Districts 2 and 3. The current commissioners are Jonathan C. Kinloch in District 2 and Martha G. Scott in District 3, according to the official roster last updated Oct. 3, 2026.

• District 3: David Knezek (Democrat) faces Mackenzie T. McDonald (Republican).
• District 2: Randy L. Burns and Jake Littrell, both independent candidates, are in the race, according to an Oct. 5 Wayne County News report.

Three countywide millage proposals are on the ballot:

• SMART/transit: 0.9831 mills, 10 years (2026–2035)
• Detroit Zoo: 0.10 mill, 10 years (2028–2037)
• Historical museums: 0.20 mill, 10 years (2026–2035), supporting the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and the Detroit Historical Society

If all three pass, they add up to about $128.31 a year per $100,000 of taxable value.

Dearborn: How to Vote and What’s on the Ballot

Dearborn’s absentee-ballot service location is the Dearborn Administrative Center; no separate 2026 satellite clerk office is listed. Completed absentee ballots must be returned there, to the Dearborn City Clerk’s Office, or to an official city drop box by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2026.

Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education

Four Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education seats are on the ballot. The board decides who runs the district spending the $1.51 billion bond money.

• Three full six-year terms: Adel Mozip, Mary Petlichkoff, Ali K. Bazzi, Mallak Anani, and Mohamed Ali Hammoud — select up to three.
• One partial term ending in 2028: incumbent Nasri Sobh vs. challenger Nofila Haidar — select one.

Dearborn School Bond Proposal

The district is asking voters to approve a $1.51 billion bond for a 20-year plan to replace or remodel every school districtwide.

• The plan includes air conditioning, preschool classrooms, career-and-technical-education and STEAM spaces, roofs, secure entrances, restrooms, traffic-flow upgrades, and athletic facilities.
• Every school would see some improvement in the first three years, and the bonds would be repaid over about 30 years.
• The asking rate is 3.14 mills, or $3.14 per $1,000 of taxable value — about $314 a year on a home with $100,000 in taxable value before offsets.
• The district says the 3.14-mill increase would be fully offset for city of Dearborn homeowners by the phase-out of a 0.96-mill sewer-bond tax and the elimination of the district’s 2.18-mill operating levy, leaving the stated combined city/school rate of 26.30 mills unchanged.
• The Detroit News editorial board’s independent review similarly concluded the proposal would replace the operating millage and be largely offset for Dearborn homeowners by the expiring sewer tax.
• The full 3.14-mill increase applies to non-homestead property in the Dearborn Heights portion of the district.
• No organized opposition to the bond has emerged publicly; the public commentary readily visible is supportive.

State Legislative Races

The Lansing seats on this ballot decide Dearborn’s representation in the state legislature.

• Michigan Senate District 2 — all of Dearborn and Dearborn Heights, Melvindale and Allen Park, plus parts of Taylor and Detroit: Abbas Alawieh (Democrat), Harry Sawicki (Republican), and Larry Darnell Betts (Working Class Party).
• Michigan House District 3 — eastern Dearborn: Alabas Farhat (Democrat) faces Gus Tarraf (Republican). The seat is currently held by State Rep. Veronica Paiz (D).
• Michigan House District 15 — western Dearborn and most of Dearborn Heights: Brianna Scott (Democrat) faces Kathy Lawrence (nonpartisan). The seat is currently held by State Rep. Erin Byrnes (D).

Language and Accessibility

Voters who need a ballot, materials, or in-person help in another language, or who have a disability requiring assisted or curbside voting, should call the Dearborn City Clerk’s Office to confirm what is available at the Dearborn Administrative Center and at polling places.