WASHINGTON — Michigan could play a decisive role in a third straight presidential election as its voters decide competitive races that could tip the balance of power in both houses of Congress as well as the state House of Representatives.

The state was one of three presidential battlegrounds, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, that went narrowly for Republicans Donald Trump in 2016, after nearly 30 years of supporting Democrats for the presidency. Four years later, Democrat Joe Biden won all three states back for the Democrats, with a margin in Michigan of about 154,000 votes out of more than 5.5 million votes cast.

Trump and the Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris they have campaigned strongly in pursuit of Michigan’s 15 electoral votes since becoming their parties’ nominees, with a focus on vote-rich Detroit and its suburbs and western Kent County, home of Grand Rapids and a key area of ​​the state.

In the U.S. Senate, the Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin and republican Mike Rogers is facing off to replace incumbent Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, whose decision to retire after five terms has turned what was once a safe seat for Democrats into an opportunity for Republicans. Rogers, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, was drafted out of retirement enter the racegiving Michigan Republicans a chance to end their 24-year drought in US Senate races.

Slotkin has kept her Lansing-area swing district in Democratic hands since her first election in 2018. Running to replace her in the 7th Congressional District are Democrat Curtis Hertel and Republican Tom Barrett, both former state senators. Voters in the 7th District supported Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020. In the 8th District, which includes Flint and Saginaw, Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet and Republican Paul Junge are running to replace Democratic U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, who is he is not seeking a seventh term. McDonald Rivet is a state senator, while Junge is a former prosecutor and local news anchor who lost to Kildee in 2022.

In the state Legislature, Democrats are fighting back the narrow majority of the House of State they won in 2022 and claimed the april after winning the special election to fill a couple of vacancies. All 110 seats in the State House are up for election this year. State legislative campaign organizations for both national parties have listed the Michigan State House as one of their top priorities for November. Democrats also hold a slim majority in the state Senate, but those seats won’t be up for election until 2026.

Here’s a look at what to expect in Michigan’s 2024 election:

November 5.

8:00 PM and 9:00 PM ET. Michigan spans two time zones, so most of the state will begin reporting results while some voters in the Upper Peninsula cast ballots as late as 9 p.m. ET.

15 awarded to the winner from across the country.

Speaker: Harris (D) vs. Trump (R) vs. Chase Oliver (Libertarian) vs. Jill Stein (Green) vs. Randall Terry (US Taxpayers Party) vs. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Natural Right Party) vs. Joseph Kishore Vs. Cornel West.

US Senate: Elissa Slotkin (D) vs. Mike Rogers (R) and four others.

7th Congressional District: Curtis Hertel (D) vs. Tom Barrett (R) and one more.

8th Congressional District: Kristen McDonald Rivet (D) vs. Paul Junge (R) and four others.

US House, State Supreme Court, State House.

A the new law give to local election officials more time to process and tabulate mail-in ballotswhich should help ease the gridlock that has slowed vote counting in the 2020 presidential election.

Cities and towns with at least 5,000 residents can begin processing and tabulating ballots up to eight days before Election Day, while smaller jurisdictions can begin the morning before Election Day.

In 2020, more than 3.1 million voters cast their postal ballots, about 56% of all ballots. The law at the time prevented election workers from opening envelopes and preparing ballots for counting until the night before Election Day. Trump took an early lead in the election night vote count, but that lead began to erode overnight and early Wednesday, and Biden took the lead later that afternoon.

The law change may lead to a faster release of total mail-in ballots and alleviate the so-called “red mirage” that Trump falsely claimed was evidence of voter fraud in Michigan and a handful of other key states .

Some of the key counties to watch in the Michigan election are Wayne (home to Detroit), Oakland, Macomb, Kent (home to Grand Rapids), Genesee (home to Flint) and Washtenaw (home to Ann Arbor).

The Associated Press does not make projections and will only declare a winner when it has determined there is no scenario that allows the trailing candidates to close the gap. If a race has not been called, AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or victory declarations. By doing so, the AP will clarify that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

Recounts are automatic in Michigan statewide races if the margin between the top two candidates is 2,000 votes or less. Candidates can request and pay for the recount regardless of the vote margin, and the state covers the cost if the recount changes the result. State party chairs can request recounts for state legislative races if the margin is less than 500 votes in state Senate races and less than 200 votes in state House races. AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine that the lead is too great for a recount or legal challenge to change the result. A the new recount law signed by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in July won’t go into effect until after the 2024 presidential election.

Although polls in most of the state close at 8:00 PM ET, the AP will not call a winner until the last polls close at 9:00 PM ET. In the 2022 gubernatorial elections, AP had recorded about 8% of the total votes by the time the last polls closed in the state.

2020: Biden (D) 51%, Trump (R) 48%, AP race call: Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, 5:58 p.m. ET.

Registered voters: 8,437,177 (as of October 17, 2024).

Voter turnout in the 2020 presidential election: 68% of registered voters.

Votes cast before Election Day 2020: approximately 59% of total votes.

Votes cast before Election Day 2022: about 42% of total votes.

Votes cast before Election Day 2024: See AP Advance Vote Tracker.

First reported votes, November 3, 2020: 8:08 PM ET.

As of midnight ET: About 45% of all votes cast have been reported.

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Associated Press writers Hannah Fingerhut, Tom Krisher and Maya Sweedler contributed to this report.

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Read more about how US elections work at Explaining the 2024 electionan Associated Press series designed to help understand American democracy. AP receives support from several private foundations to improve its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about the AP Democracy Initiative Here. AP is solely responsible for all content.