“The driver’s license file and the voter registration file are the same file with the Secretary of State, so if you change your address on one, you’re effectively changing the address on both,” he said.

East Lansing City Clerk Nicole Evans said she has met voters who intended to vote in East Lansing but had their polling location changed after renewing their license with their hometown address.

“(Students) are putting their home address again, thereby changing their voter registration address, even though they may have initially registered here,” Evans said.

She said the best way to avoid showing up at the wrong polling location on Election Day is to check the state’s voting Web site, www.michigan.gov/vote, to find our where they are registered to vote.

First-time voters who wish to vote in their hometown should keep in mind they must register in person to obtain a mail-in absentee ballot. The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is 2 p.m. Nov. 1. Voters who miss the deadline must submit their absentee ballot in person at their city clerk’s office by 4 p.m. Nov. 3.

Those who register by mail cannot vote by mail, Evans said.

This could cause problems for students who registered to vote through on-campus canvassers because doing so is considered a mail-in registration, said Kelly Chesney, a spokeswoman for Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land.

“When you register via a third-party organization … you don’t have the option as a voter to vote absentee,” Chesney said.

On-campus voter registration canvassers were expecting to register about 6,000 students by Monday’s deadline, Evans said. She said those who registered with on-campus canvassers also should make sure to check www.michigan.gov/vote to make sure the registration was received.

The best way to avoid registration roadblocks is to register now, Bryanton said.

“There’s no telling if you’ll miss your bus, you get a flat tire on the way there, things that are beyond people’s control,” he said.