It is almost impossible to predict how quickly Michigan voters will know the results of the Nov. 5 general election.

Election workers are being helped this year by state law that allows for municipalities with populations of 5,000 to begin processing absentee ballots early. Results cannot be reported until after polls close at 8 p.m.

In Oakland County, Clerk Lisa Brown said she expects the count to go well because her office has been planning ahead. State election officials anticipate that nearly 50% of the ballots cast will come from absentee voters.

“We did a time trial to figure out how long it takes us to get through 1,000 ballots. We do the math for every election,” she said, adding that it helps to have adequate election workers. There will be 180 people working for two days of early processing, Monday, Nov. 4, and Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Brown is one of many clerks who participated in state and federal tabletop exercises preparing for different scenarios. She’s worked with Waterford Regional Fire officials to familiarize them with the room they use for counting ballots in case someone opens an envelope and there is white powder.

“We know people want those early results. And we don’t want to be working into the wee hours, either,” she said.

Despite preprocessing, municipal clerks still have to check all drop boxes at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, to ensure they’ve collected all the ballots.

Brown said people who want to be sure their ballot is counted can bring their absentee ballot to one of the county’s early voting sites and put them into a tabulator. If the ballot has an error, it will be rejected, so the voter can get that ballot spoiled and request a new one on the spot.

Aghogho Edevbie, Michigan’s deputy secretary of state, said voter education is critical to managing election expectations in case results are delayed. He participated in a virtual session Friday with bipartisan groups Michiganders for Civic Resilience and the nonpartisan Election Reformers Network for journalists and the public.

He said the new laws helped Michigan meet national standards for election performance, adding the the only state with a higher ranking in New Mexico.

Republican former state Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker and former state Rep. Christine Greig, a Democrat whose district included Farmington and Farmington Hills, are senior advisors for Michiganders for Civic Resilience.

Schuitmaker said people “need to be educated about election results so they know results are safe and secure. We can help them understand checks and balances of results.”

Greig said more people need to understand there’s no connection between tabulating machines and the internet. Voting records are checked and doublechecked to ensure only eligible voters are casting ballots.

Secretary of State Michigan Jocelyn Benson said she’s been visiting clerks’ offices around the state.

“Folks from both sides of the aisle are just committed to doing their jobs well,” she said, adding that state officials have planned for every contingency and are hoping for the best.

“Election clerks have done extraordinary work in just a few years to meet this moment,” she said. “They’re making it easier to vote and harder to cheat … they’re doing everything they can to ensure citizens have rightly placed trust in the process.”

She said she’s disappointed that some politicians with agendas have shared misleading election information but is “grateful for court cases sticking with reality.”

“No matter who wins, they all deserve to know the results are secure and accurate,” Benson said.

People can learn more about how the state is ensuring that only U.S. citizens vote and election rolls are accurate by visiting michigan.gov/electionfacts, micivic.org or electionovertime.org.

Susan Smiley of MediaNews Group contributed to this story.