LEELANAU COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) — More Michigan voters can cast their ballots before Election Day than on November 5th.

Between absentee voting and what is proving to be a popular in-person early voting period, many ballots have already been cast.

But what happens to those ballots between now and when the polls close on Election Day?

We had a local clerk fill in our details.

“Our parking lot was full on Saturday,” Leelanau County Clerk Michelle Crocker said.

Finding parking at the Leelanau Government Center is usually not a problem.

But for the last four days there’s been a pretty steady flow of traffic around here.

“So on Saturday, we had — for us, that was a lot — it was 433 voters,” Crocker said. “It was a lot; it’s one voter per minute”.

For Crocker, who has been through several presidential elections…

“I’ve been the county clerk since May 1, 1996,” Crocker said.

She has seen something change when it comes to the way people vote.

“When I started, we had lever cars where you pulled the curtain behind you,” Crocker said.

Fast forward to today and I see voter after voter day after day, surprise and small relief.

“It’s like getting ready to party and someone shows up?” Crocker said. “And people show up.”

And the numbers back it up.

According to the secretary of state, Leelanau County has already voted nearly 42 percent of registered voters, either here in person or via a returned ballot. A trend that officials across the country are reporting.

“Employees were well prepared,” said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. “The processes and systems they had in place worked smoothly.”

There are many votes cast, many days before November 5th.

So what happens to your vote in the meantime?

Well, to some extent it depends on where you live.

“Jurisdictions with more than 5,000 residents can have up to eight days of pre-processing,” Benson said.

But the 5,000 resident limit does not apply to many towns and communities in northern Michigan.

So what is the process for many of our clerks?

Let’s start with the mail-in or drop-off absentee ballot that gets delivered where it needs to go.

“Mr. Clerk, if he hasn’t contacted you, then your signature matches, it’s been dated, he’s done all his checking, and he’s keeping it safe until Election Day,” Crocker said.

They are verified but not tabulated until the polls open on November 5.

“This process takes place during the day, but there are no totals until after 8:00 p.m., when all votes are closed,” Crocker said.

So an absentee ballot already received is verified, but held until the morning of election day.

“It’s being put away in a secure location,” Crocker said.

But what about all those ballots cast during early in-person voting?

“Of course it gets tabulated and passed, but nothing is touched that we know what those totals are. We have no idea,” Crocker said.

Early in-person votes are counted each night, but clerks do not have access to that data.

“These totals will not be recorded until after 8 o’clock on November 5,” Crocker said.

As our elections have evolved over Michelle’s tenure, so have the processes involved to ensure accuracy and security.

“Whichever option you choose to vote, Michigan elections are safe, secure and the results will be counted accurately,” Crocker said.

A responsibility officials like Crocker say is why they do what they do.

“We want the i’s dotted and we want the t’s crossed, and we’re process driven so processes are followed,” Crocker said.

If you have completed an absentee ballot but have not yet returned it, you can deliver it to the polling station and feed it yourself through the machine if you wish.

Early in-person voting ends Sunday night, and clerks are expecting large numbers and potentially longer lines this weekend.