Bill Text: MI HB5141 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Elections; absent voters; local agreements dealing with absent voter counting boards and combined absent voter counting boards; allow. Amends secs. 765 & 765a of 1954 PA 116 (MCL 168.765 & 168.765a) & adds sec. 764d.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-06-24 - Assigned Pa 95'20 With Immediate Effect [HB5141 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2019-HB5141-Engrossed.html
Substitute For
HOUSE BILL NO. 5141
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending sections 765 and 765a (MCL 168.765 and 168.765a), section 765 as amended by 2018 PA 603 and section 765a as added by 2018 PA 123, and by adding section 764d.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 764d. (1) Notwithstanding any
provision of law to the contrary and subject to subsection (2), not less than
75 days before the day of an election, the clerk of a city or township may do
any of the following:
(a)
Enter into an agreement with the clerk of another city or township, or with the
clerks of more than 1 city or township, located in the same county as that city
or township to establish a combined absent voter counting board to count the
absent voter ballots for each participating city or township.
(b)
Enter into an agreement with the clerk of another city or township located in
the same county that authorizes the clerk of 1 participating city or township
to process and count the absent voter ballots for both participating entities
by utilizing the absent voter counting board of that participating city or
township.
(c)
Enter into an agreement with the clerk of the county in which that city or
township is located to have the county clerk establish an absent voter counting
board to count the absent voter ballots for that city or township. If a city or
township has boundaries located in more than 1 county, the clerk of the city or
township shall only enter into an agreement under this subdivision with the
county clerk of the county in which the majority of the electors of the city or
township reside.
(2)
An absent voter counting board established under subsection (1) must not be
used for the first time at a general November election.
(3)
An agreement entered into under subsection (1)(b) or (c) must comply with the
established approval procedures of the governing body of each county, city, or
township involved, or if established approval procedures do not exist, the
agreement must be approved by resolution of the governing body of that county,
city, or township.
(4)
The bureau of elections shall do both of the following:
(a)
Develop model language to be used by county, city, and township clerks for
agreements entered into under subsection (1).
(b)
Develop procedures to implement this section.
(5)
If the clerk of a city or township enters into an agreement under subsection
(1), the clerk of that city or township shall file the agreement with the
county clerk of the county in which that city or township is located no later
than 74 days before the election at which the agreement applies.
(6)
If the clerk of a city or township enters into an agreement under subsection
(1) and that agreement covers more than 1 election, the agreement must allow
any participating clerk to terminate the agreement by giving 84 days' written
notice to each of the other participating clerks. If the clerk terminating the
agreement is a city or township clerk, the clerk must also file the notice of
termination with the county clerk of the county in which that city or township
is located no later than 2 business days after the date of termination. If the
clerk terminating the agreement is a county clerk, the clerk must also file the
notice of termination with the bureau of elections no later than 2 business
days after the date of termination.
(7)
For a combined absent voter counting board established under subsection (1)(a),
all of the following apply:
(a)
The board of election commissioners of each participating city or township must
appoint at least 1 election inspector to that combined absent voter counting
board not less than 21 days or more than 40 days before the election at which
those election inspectors are to be used. Sections 673a and 674 apply to the
appointment of election inspectors to a combined absent voter counting board.
(b)
The agreement entered into under subsection (1)(a) must designate the place for
the combined absent voter counting board to count the absent voter ballots.
Section 662 applies to the designation and prescribing of the combined absent
voter ballot counting place in which the combined absent voter counting board
performs its duties.
(c)
The agreement entered into under subsection (1)(a) must establish the time at
which the election inspectors of the combined absent voter counting board
report for duty.
(8)
For an absent voter counting board established by a county under subsection
(1)(c), all of the following apply:
(a)
The county board of election commissioners of that county shall appoint
election inspectors to the county absent voter counting board not less than 21
days or more than 40 days before the election at which those election
inspectors are to be used. Sections 673a and 674 apply to the appointment of
election inspectors to a county absent voter counting board.
(b)
The county board of election commissioners of the county shall designate the
place for the county absent voter counting board to count the absent voter
ballots. Section 662 applies to the designation and prescribing of the county
absent voter ballot counting place in which the county absent voter
counting board performs its duties.
(c)
The county board of election commissioners of the county shall establish the
time at which the election inspectors of the county absent voter counting board
report for duty.
(9)
The election inspectors appointed to an absent voter counting board established
under subsection (1) shall comply with section 733(2) regarding election
challengers.
(10)
If the clerk of a city or township enters into an agreement under subsection
(1), any absent voter ballot received by that city or township clerk after 4
p.m. on the day before an election must not be delivered to the absent voter
counting board but must instead be delivered to the voting precinct of the
elector on election day to be processed and counted.
(11)
The provisions of section 765a(8) to (13) apply to an absent voter counting
board established under subsection (1).
Sec. 765. (1) A clerk who receives an absent voter
ballot return envelope containing the marked ballots of an absent voter shall
not open that envelope before delivering the envelope to the board of election
inspectors as provided in this section. The city or township clerk shall safely
keep in his or her office until election day any absent voter ballot return
envelopes received by the clerk before election day containing the marked
ballots of an absent voter.
(2) Before the opening of
the polls on election day or as soon after the opening of the polls as
possible, the clerk shall deliver the absent voter ballot return envelopes to
the chairperson or other member of the board of election inspectors in the
absent voter's precinct, together with the signed absent voter ballot
applications received by the clerk from any voters of that precinct and the
clerk's list or record kept relative to those absent voters. However, if higher
numbered ballots are used under section 717, the clerk shall retain the
applications and lists in his or her office and shall keep the applications and
lists open to public inspection at all reasonable hours. Absent voter ballots
must not be tabulated before the opening of the polls on election day.
(3) The city or township
clerk, or authorized designee of the clerk, shall call for and receive absent
voter ballots from the post office at which the city or township clerk regularly
receives mail addressed to the city or township clerk on election day. Any
envelopes containing absent voter ballots that are received from the post
office or from voters who voted by absentee ballot in person in the clerk's
office on election day must be delivered to the board of election inspectors or, except as otherwise provided in section 764d,
the absent voter counting boards to be tabulated.
(4) If a marked absent
voter ballot is received by the clerk after the close of the polls, the clerk
shall plainly mark the envelope with the time and date of receipt and shall
file the envelope in his or her office.
(5) On or before 8 a.m. on election day, the clerk shall post in the clerk's office or otherwise make public the number of absent voter ballots the clerk distributed to absent voters and the number of absent voter ballot return envelopes containing the marked ballots of absent voters received by the clerk before election day and to be delivered to the board of election inspectors or the absent voter counting boards under this act. On or before 9 p.m. on election day, the clerk shall post in the clerk's office or otherwise make public the number of absent voter ballot return envelopes containing the marked ballots of absent voters received by the clerk on election day and delivered to the board of election inspectors, under subsection (3), along with the total number of absent voter ballot return envelopes containing the marked ballots of absent voters received by the clerk both before and on election day and delivered to the board of election inspectors or the absent voter counting boards under this act. As soon as possible after all precincts in the city or township are processed, the clerk shall post in the clerk's office or otherwise make public the number of absent voter ballot return envelopes containing the marked ballots of absent voters received by the election inspectors at the precincts on election day, along with the total number of absent voter ballot return envelopes containing the marked ballots of absent voters received in the city or township for that election. This subsection applies only to elections in which a federal or state office appears on the ballot.
Sec. 765a. (1) If Subject to
section 764d, if a city or township decides to use absent voter
counting boards, the board of election commissioners of that city or township
shall establish an absent voter counting board for each election day precinct
in that city or township. The ballot form of an absent voter counting board
must correspond to the ballot form of the election day precinct for which it is
established. After the polls close on election day, the county, city, or
township clerk responsible for producing the accumulation report of the
election results submitted by the boards of precinct election inspectors shall
format the accumulation report to clearly indicate all of the following:
(a) The election day precinct returns.
(b) The corresponding absent voter counting board
returns.
(c) A total of each election day precinct return and
each corresponding absent voter counting board return.
(2) The Subject to section 764d, the board of
election commissioners shall establish the absent voter counting boards. The Subject to section 764d, the board of
election commissioners shall appoint the election inspectors to those absent
voter counting boards not less than 21 days or more than 40 days before the
election at which they are to be used. Sections 673a and 674 apply to the
appointment of election inspectors to absent voter counting boards under this
section. The board of election commissioners shall determine the number of
ballots that may be expeditiously counted by an absent voter counting board in
a reasonable period of time, taking into consideration the size and complexity
of the ballot to be counted pursuant to the guidelines of the secretary of
state. Combined ballots must be regarded as the number of ballots as there are
sections to the ballot.
(3) If more than 1 absent voter counting board is to
be used, the city or township clerk shall determine the number of electronic
voting systems or the number of ballot boxes and the number of election
inspectors to be used in each of the absent voter counting boards and to which
absent voter counting board the absent voter ballots for each precinct are
assigned for counting.
(4) In a city or township that uses absent voter
counting boards under this section, absent voter ballots must be counted in the
manner provided in this section and, except as otherwise provided in section 764d, absent
voter ballots must not be delivered to the polling places. The Subject to section 764d, the board of
election commissioners shall provide a place for each absent voter counting
board to count the absent voter ballots. Section 662 applies to the designation
and prescribing of the absent voter counting place or places in which the
absent voter counting board performs its duties under this section, except the
location may be in a different jurisdiction if the county provides a tabulator
for use at a central absent voter counting board location in that county. The
places must be designated as absent voter counting places. Except as otherwise
provided in this section, laws relating to paper ballot precincts, including
laws relating to the appointment of election inspectors, apply to absent voter
counting places. The provisions of this section relating to placing of absent
voter ballots on electronic voting systems apply. More than 1 absent voter
counting board may be located in 1 building.
(5) The clerk of a city or township that uses absent
voter counting boards shall supply each absent voter counting board with
supplies necessary to carry out its duties under this act. The supplies must be
furnished to the city or township clerk in the same manner and by the same
persons or agencies as for other precincts.
(6) Absent Subject to section 764d, absent voter
ballots received by the clerk before election day must be delivered to the
absent voter counting board by the clerk or the clerk's authorized assistant at
the time the election inspectors of the absent voter counting boards report for
duty, which time must be established by the board of election commissioners. Absent Except as otherwise provided in section 764d, absent voter
ballots received by the clerk before the time set for the closing of the polls
on election day must be delivered to the absent voter counting boards. Absent
voter ballots must be delivered to the absent voter counting boards, county absent voter counting boards, or combined
absent voter counting boards in the sealed absent voter ballot
return envelopes in which they were returned to the clerk. Written or stamped
on each of the return envelopes must be the time and the date that the envelope
was received by the clerk and a statement by the clerk that the signatures of
the absent voters on the envelopes have been checked and found to agree with
the signatures of the voters on the registration cards or the digitized
signatures of voters contained in the qualified voter file as provided under section
766. If a signature on the registration card or a digitized signature contained
in the qualified voter file and on the absent voter ballot return envelope does
not agree as provided under section 766, if the absent voter failed to sign the
envelope, or if the statement of the absent voter is not properly executed, the
clerk shall mark the envelope "rejected" and the reason for the
rejection and shall place his or her name under the notation. An envelope
marked "rejected" must not be delivered to the absent voter counting
board, county absent voter counting board, or combined absent
voter counting board but must be preserved by the clerk until
other ballots are destroyed in the manner provided in this act. The clerk shall
also comply with section 765(5).
(7) This chapter does not prohibit an absent voter
from voting in person within the voter's precinct at an election,
notwithstanding that the voter may have applied for an absent voter ballot and
the ballot may have been mailed or otherwise delivered to the voter. The voter,
the election inspectors, and other election officials shall proceed in the
manner prescribed in section 769. The clerk shall preserve the canceled ballots
for 2 years.
(8) The absent voter counting boards, county absent voter counting boards, and combined absent voter
counting boards shall process the ballots and returns in as
nearly as possible the same manner as ballots are processed in paper ballot
precincts. The poll book may be combined with the absent voter list or record required
by section 760, and the applications for absent voter ballots may be used as
the poll list. The processing and tallying of absent voter ballots may commence
at 7 a.m. on the day of the election.
(9) An election inspector, challenger, or any other person
in attendance at an absent voter counting place, county absent
voter counting place, or combined absent voter counting place at
any time after the processing of ballots has begun shall take and sign the
following oath that may be administered by the chairperson or a member of the
absent voter counting board, county absent
voter counting board, or combined absent voter counting board:
"I (name of person taking oath) do solemnly swear
(or affirm) that I shall not communicate in any way any information relative to
the processing or tallying of votes that may come to me while in this counting
place until after the polls are closed.".
(10) The oaths administered under subsection (9) must
be placed in an envelope provided for the purpose and sealed with the red state
seal. Following the election, the oaths must be delivered to the city or
township clerk. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (12), a person in
attendance at the absent voter counting place, county absent
voter counting place, or combined absent voter counting place shall
not leave the counting place after the tallying has begun until the polls
close. A person who causes the polls to be closed or who discloses an election
result or in any manner characterizes how any ballot being counted has been
voted in a voting precinct before the time the polls can be legally closed on
election day is guilty of a felony.
(11) Voted absent voter ballots must be placed in an
approved ballot container, and the ballot container must be sealed in the
manner provided by this act for paper ballot precincts. The seal numbers must
be recorded on the statement sheet and in the poll book.
(12) Subject to this subsection, a local election
official who has established an absent voter counting board, county absent voter counting board, or combined absent
voter counting board, the deputy or employee of that local
election official, an employee of the state bureau of elections, a county
clerk, an employee of a county clerk, or a representative of a voting equipment
company may enter and leave an absent voter counting board, county absent voter counting board, or combined absent voter
counting board after the tally has begun but before the polls
close. A person described in this subsection may enter an absent voter counting
board, county absent voter counting board, or combined absent
voter counting board only for the purpose of responding to an
inquiry from an election inspector or a challenger or providing instructions on
the operation of the counting board. Before entering an absent voter counting
board, county absent voter counting board,
or combined absent voter counting board, a person described in
this subsection must take and sign the oath prescribed in subsection (9). The
chairperson of the absent voter counting board, county absent
voter counting board, or combined absent voter counting board shall
record in the poll book the name of a person described in this subsection who
enters the absent voter counting board, county absent voter counting board, or combined absent voter
counting board. A person described in this subsection who enters
an absent voter counting board, county absent voter counting board, or combined absent
voter counting board and who discloses an election result or in
any manner characterizes how any ballot being counted has been voted in a
precinct before the time the polls can be legally closed on election day is
guilty of a felony. As used in this subsection, "local election
official" means a county, city, or township clerk.
(13) The secretary of state shall develop instructions consistent with this act for the conduct of absent voter counting boards, county absent voter counting boards, or combined absent voter counting boards. The secretary of state shall distribute the instructions developed under this subsection to county, city, and township clerks 40 days or more before a general election in which absent voter counting boards, county absent voter counting boards, or combined absent voter counting boards will be used. A county, city, or township clerk shall make the instructions developed under this subsection available to the public and shall distribute the instructions to each challenger in attendance at an absent voter counting board, county absent voter counting board, or combined absent voter counting board. The instructions developed under this subsection are binding upon the operation of an absent voter counting board, county absent voter counting board, or combined absent voter counting board used in an election conducted by a county, city, or township.
