MSU graduate student Leo Dion was at his Lansing precinct by 7 a.m. on Election Day to cast his vote, but was frustrated by a long line.

"It was all the way to the door," Dion said. "I ended up going back at 11 a.m. and voting then."

Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land hopes to reduce long lines by expanding early voting options in the state, said spokeswoman Kelly Chesney. She said Land hopes legislators will pass laws to erase restrictions on absentee ballots and to permit residents to vote in-person before the election, as they do in Florida and some other states.

"We right now see it as an opportunity, but don't have a comprehensive plan," Chesney said. "Would it be a day before or a month?

"What is clear is we need to have a plan that accommodates the demand."

Florida residents had long waits for early voting because the large number of voters overwhelmed the few precincts open ahead of the election.

"We know there would be a great demand for it here," Chesney said, adding that Land will be looking for state legislators willing to introduce a bill on the topic.

Sen. Virg Bernero, D-Lansing, said Land's suggestions are not new, but he is eager and impatient to make progress on them. He said although he waited an hour and a half to vote in Lansing, most people don't have that kind of time.

"The result of the bottleneck is disenfranchisement," Bernero said. "People were walking away from the polls."

In September, Bernero introduced his own voting legislation aimed at removing the requirement for residents' driver licenses and voter registration cards to match.

Sen. Alan Cropsey, R-DeWitt, said he supports unrestricted absentee ballots, but not opening polls early.

"Local units of government would be picking up three times the cost," he said. "Absentee voting is a much better way to go, and it's a much cheaper way."

Currently, voters can receive an absentee ballot if they are older than 60, plan to be out of town on Election Day, are incarcerated, have a religious reason for not voting or need assistance at the polls.

If more absentee ballots are given out, protections must be put in place to prevent fraud, Cropsey said.

Ingham County Clerk Mike Bryanton said he supports unrestricted absentee ballots.

"That's really, in my mind, a no-brainer," he said. "In this day and age, when we're all so busy, there's no reason we should continue to put obstacles in front of people."

Pilot programs for opening polls early should be run during small elections around the state to discover residents' demand and potential set backs, he said.

MSU students are divided about whether or not they would make use of either change.

General management junior Jeff Blevins said he waited a half-hour at an East Lansing precinct and wouldn't use early polls or an absentee ballot.

"Voting is something important enough that if it takes a half-hour, no big deal," he said. "It's not like buying a cup of coffee. You only do it once every four years."

But economics junior Yadav Gopalan said anything that makes voting easier is a great idea. He arrived at Wilson Hall polls at 7 a.m. to avoid crowds.

"It would reduce excuses for people not to vote," he said. "Students already have busy lives and just to free up some restrictions for voting would be beneficial."

Elizabeth Piet can be reached at pieteliz@msu.edu