Bill Text: MI HB5141 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Enrolled
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-Enrolled.html
state of michigan
100th Legislature
Regular session of 2020
Introduced by Rep. Calley
ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 5141
AN ACT to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled “An act
to reorganize, consolidate, and add to the election laws; to provide for
election officials and prescribe their powers and duties; to prescribe the
powers and duties of certain state departments, state agencies, and state and
local officials and employees; to provide for the nomination and election of
candidates for public office; to provide for the resignation, removal, and
recall of certain public officers; to provide for the filling of vacancies in
public office; to provide for and regulate primaries and elections; to provide
for the purity of elections; to guard against the abuse of the elective
franchise; to define violations of this act; to provide appropriations; to
prescribe penalties and provide remedies; and to repeal certain acts and all
other acts inconsistent with this act,” 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 subsections (2) and (12), 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 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) Except as otherwise provided in this
subsection, an absent voter counting board established under subsection (1)
must not be used for the first time at a general November election. For the
November 3, 2020 general November election, an absent voter counting board may
be established under subsection (1) and used for the first time if either of
the following occurs:
(a) An agreement is entered into under
subsection (1)(a) or (b) and at least 1 of the clerks participating in the agreement
has previously operated an absent voter counting board.
(b) An agreement is entered into under
subsection (1)(c).
(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) Except as otherwise provided in this
subsection, 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. For
an election occurring before January 1, 2021, the clerk of a city or township
who enters into an agreement under subsection (1) is not required to file the
agreement with the county clerk if all of the following apply:
(a) The electronic voting system used by the
county can be programmed to accommodate an absent voter counting board formed
under subsection (1).
(b) The county clerk agrees that the
electronic voting system used by the county can be altered after completion of
the ballot programming.
(c) The appropriate board of election
commissioners publicly tests the electronic tabulating equipment as required
under section 798.
(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 under subsection (1)(c), all of the following apply:
(a) The board of election commissioners of the
city or township entering into an agreement under subsection (1)(c) shall
appoint at least 1 election inspector to the absent voter counting board and the county board of election commissioners of
that county shall appoint at least 1 election inspector to the 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 the absent voter counting board.
(b) In consultation with the parties to an
agreement under subsection (1)(c), the county board of election commissioners
shall designate the place for the absent voter counting board to count the
absent voter ballots. Section 662 applies to the designation and prescribing of
the absent voter ballot counting place in which the absent voter counting board
performs its duties.
(c) In consultation with the parties to an
agreement under subsection (1)(c), the county board of election commissioners
shall establish the time at which the election inspectors of the 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).
(12) For an election occurring before January
1, 2021, the clerk of a city or township may enter into an agreement under subsection (1) not less than 23 days before the day of
the election if all of the following apply:
(a) The electronic voting system used by the
county can be programmed to accommodate an absent voter counting board formed
under subsection (1).
(b) The county
clerk agrees that the electronic voting system used by the county can be
altered after completion of the ballot programming.
(c) The
appropriate board of election commissioners publicly tests the electronic
tabulating equipment as required under section 798.
(13) This section
does not abrogate the duties or responsibilities of a city or township clerk
for conducting elections under this act. In addition, this section does not
provide any additional duties or responsibilities for the secretary of state
for conducting elections under this act.
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) 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)
Subject to section 764d, the board of
election commissioners shall establish the absent voter counting boards. 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. 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) 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. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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
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 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 or combined absent voter counting
board. A person described in this subsection who
enters an 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 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 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 or combined
absent voter counting board. The instructions
developed under this subsection are binding upon the operation of an absent
voter counting board or combined absent voter counting board used in an election conducted by a county, city, or
township.
This act is ordered to take immediate effect.
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Secretary of the Senate
Approved___________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Governor
