Election Q&A: I lost my secrecy sleeve. Can I still return my absentee ballot?

This story is part of a Lansing State Journal Q&A series about the upcoming election. Have a question about voting, polling or results? Ask it in the form at the bottom of this story. We'll get you the answer.

Q: I lost my secrecy sleeve. Can I still return my absentee ballot?

This is a quick one.

Yes. It's OK to accidentally return an absentee ballot without the secrecy sleeve, but don't do it on purpose. (Key word: accident. Don't ditch the secrecy sleeve just for the heck of it.)

The yellow secrecy sleeves that come with absentee ballots are supposed to add an extra layer of separation between your identity — your signature on the ballot return envelope — and the ballot that shows who you voted for.

If an election worker opens a ballot return envelope and finds a naked ballot with no secrecy sleeve, they simply place the ballot into a new one and proceed as normal, Secretary of State spokesperson Tracy Wimmer said. 

Submit your questions to the Lansing State Journal's Election Q&A series. We'll post questions and answers online at LSJ.com.