U-M Museum of Art Offers Satellite Voting

Your student now has a safe, on-campus location to cast their vote in the November 3, 2020 election. They can also register to vote and cast early in-person absentee ballots on campus.

Several units at U-M have partnered with the city of Ann Arbor to transform a gallery space at the U-M Museum of Art into the state’s first satellite city clerk’s office located on a university campus. It opened on National Voter Registration Day (Sept. 22) and will remain open until Nov. 3, with absentee ballots since Sept. 24.

The effort was kick-started by U-M Stamps School of Art & Design professors Stephanie Rowden and Hannah Smotrich as part of their multi-year research effort inspired by historically low student voter turnout. Just 14 percent of U-M students voted in the 2014 midterm elections, though the number has increased significantly in recent years with the help of campus wide campaigns like Turn Up Turnout, the Big Ten Voting Challenge, and Rowden and Smotrich’s Creative Campus Voting Project. Forty-four percent of U-M students voted in the 2016 presidential election and 41 percent voted in the 2018 midterms.

Rowden and Smotrich worked in partnership with Goldenberg, UMMA’s Briannon Cierpilowski and James Leija, the U-M Government Relations Office and the Ann Arbor City Clerk’s Office to secure an office on campus. They also designed the space, which included signage for wayfinding and communications.

In alignment with campus COVID-19 protocols, the satellite office in UMMA’s first floor Stenn Gallery (525 S. State St.) is exclusively for U-M students, faculty and staff who plan to vote in Ann Arbor. A valid M-Card is required for entry. The general public is encouraged to visit the Ann Arbor City Clerk’s Office (301 E. Huron St.).

Satellite office hours are:

  • Oct. 24-Nov. 1: Weekdays 10 a.m.- 7 p.m.; Saturdays 8 a.m.- 4 p.m.
  • Nov. 2: 8 a.m.-  4 p.m.
  • Nov. 3: 8 a.m.- 8 p.m.

At the satellite site, your student can:

  • Register to vote in Ann Arbor
  • Update their registration address
  • Request an absentee ballot
  • Drop off an absentee ballot (for the city of Ann Arbor only)
  • Vote early (started 9/24)