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New Michigan Absentee Rules Could Impact Biden-Sanders Race

AP Photo/Paul Sancya

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Bernie Sanders is looking to Michigan to rekindle his presidential campaign in the same way his surprise primary victory here four years ago did.

The state's primary, the largest delegate prize in this week's slate of Democratic contests, also presents a resurgent Joe Biden with a chance to continue his momentum.

Voters will enjoy expanded rights in the state's first major election since the approval of a 2018 constitutional amendment that has resulted in a surge of early voting.

People who now can cast an absentee ballot without needing an excuse. 

And as of Monday, nearly 29,000 absentee voters in Michigan had gone back to change their vote after several candidates dropped out. 

Michigan's polls opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday, and will be open until 8 p.m.

A quirk in how delegates are won under Democratic Party rules is raising the stakes for Tuesday's primary elections, allowing a candidate to make up ground in the race quickly — or fall further behind.

The 352 delegates up for grabs in Michigan, Washington, Missouri, Mississippi, Idaho and North Dakota makes for only the fourth-largest delegate night on the primary calendar.

But the intricate arithmetic of how delegates are won under Democratic Party rules makes it possible for a candidate to reap a bigger haul of delegates with a smaller margin of victory on this Tuesday than on any other night. 

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