Bill Text: MI HB4082 | 2009-2010 | 95th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Elections; candidates; candidate who loses primary election running as write-in candidate for same office at general election; prohibit except under certain circumstances. Amends sec. 737a of 1954 PA 116 (MCL 168.737a).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-01-27 - Printed Bill Filed 01/23/2009 [HB4082 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2009-HB4082-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL No. 4082
January 22, 2009, Introduced by Reps. Rogers and Paul Scott and referred to the Committee on Ethics and Elections.
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending section 737a (MCL 168.737a), as amended by 2006 PA 87.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 737a. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section,
the board of election inspectors shall not count a write-in vote
for a person unless that person has filed a declaration of intent
to be a write-in candidate as provided in this section. The write-
in candidate shall file the declaration of intent to be a write-in
candidate with the filing official for that elective office on or
before 4 p.m. on the second Friday immediately before the election.
The secretary of state, immediately after the 4 p.m. filing
deadline under this subsection, shall prepare and have delivered a
list of all persons who have filed a declaration of intent to be a
write-in candidate under this subsection, if any, to the
appropriate county clerks. A filing official other than the
secretary of state who receives a declaration of intent to be a
write-in candidate or list of persons who filed a declaration of
intent from another filing official under this subsection shall
prepare and have delivered a list of all persons who have filed a
declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate to the board of
election inspectors in the appropriate precincts before the close
of the polls on election day.
(2) If a candidate whose name is printed on the official
ballot for the election dies or is otherwise disqualified on or
after the Wednesday immediately before the election, the
requirement of filing a declaration of intent to be a write-in
candidate under subsection (1) does not apply to a write-in
candidate. If a death or disqualification has occurred as described
in this subsection, the board of election inspectors shall count
all write-in votes for write-in candidates for the office sought by
the deceased or disqualified candidate.
(3) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a
candidate for an office whose name is printed on a primary election
ballot and who loses the primary election shall not be eligible to
file a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate for that
same office at the general election. This prohibition does not
apply if a candidate whose name is printed on the general election
ballot for that office dies or is otherwise disqualified before the
general election.
(4) (3)
Subsections (1) and (2) do not
apply to a write-in
candidate for precinct delegate. The board of election inspectors
shall not count a write-in vote for a write-in candidate for
precinct delegate unless that candidate has filed a declaration of
intent to be a write-in candidate as provided in this subsection. A
write-in candidate for precinct delegate shall file a declaration
of intent to be a write-in candidate with the appropriate city or
township clerk for that precinct on or before 4 p.m. on the Friday
immediately before the election or with the board of election
inspectors in the appropriate precinct before the close of the
polls on election day. A city or township clerk who receives a
declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate from a write-in
candidate for precinct delegate under this subsection shall prepare
and have delivered a list of all persons who have filed a
declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate to the board of
election inspectors in the appropriate precincts before the close
of the polls on election day.
(5) (4)
The secretary of state shall
prescribe forms for the
declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate. Clerks shall
maintain a supply of declaration of intent to be a write-in
candidate forms in the clerk's office and make the forms available
in the polling places during the August primary for this purpose.
The declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate form shall
include all of the following information:
(a) The name of the person intending to be a write-in
candidate.
(b) The elective office that the person seeks as a write-in
candidate.
(c) The residence address of the person seeking elective
office as a write-in candidate.
(d) Other information the secretary of state considers
appropriate.
