For the first time in a presidential election, Michigan local officials will be able to preprocess absentee ballots.

“Typically in Michigan, absentee ballots couldn’t start being tabulated until the polls opened on Election Day, and in some of our large jurisdictions, there just isn’t enough time,” said Barb Byrum, Ingham County Clerk.

New state laws give clerks an eight-day lead to process ballots.

Starting Monday (Oct. 28), Metro Detroit clerks can preprocess absentee ballots returned to them.

The process includes opening the envelope, verifying the signature, verifying the ballot number and scanning the tabular ballot.

However, election officials can issue vote totals only after the polls close on election day.

“Hopefully the unofficial results will come in a little faster,” Byrum said.

While the new law aims to improve efficiency, only some municipalities will participate.

Warren City Clerk Sonja Buffa issued a statement saying her office will not preprocess absentee ballots.

“Up to eight days of pre-processing opens the door for results to be leaked or compromised. I will not risk compromising the integrity of the election,” Buffa said in a statement.