Bill Text: MI SB0977 | 2019-2020 | 100th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Elections: offenses; certain felonies involving absent voter ballot applications; create. Amends sec. 759 of 1954 PA 116 (MCL 168.759).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Vetoed) 2020-10-21 - Postponed For The Day [SB0977 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2019-SB0977-Enrolled.html
state of michigan
100th Legislature
Regular session of 2020
Introduced by Senator
Daley
ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 977
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 section 759 (MCL 168.759), as amended by 2018 PA 603.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
(2) Except as
otherwise provided in subsection (1) and subject to section 761(3), at any time
during the 75 days before an election, but not later than 8 p.m. on the day of
an election, an elector may apply for an absent voter ballot. The elector shall
apply in person or by mail with the clerk of the township, city, or village in
which the voter is registered. The clerk of a city or township shall not send
by first-class mail an absent voter ballot to an elector after 5 p.m. on the
Friday immediately before the election. Except as otherwise provided in
section 761(2), the clerk of a city or township shall not issue an absent voter ballot
to a registered elector in that city or township after 4 p.m. on the day before
the election. An individual may submit a voter registration application and an
absent voter ballot application at the same time if applying in person with the
clerk or deputy clerk of the city or township in which the individual resides.
Immediately after his or her voter registration application and absent voter
ballot application are approved by the clerk, the individual may, subject to
the identification requirement in section 761(6), complete an absent voter
ballot at the clerk’s office.
(3) An application for an absent voter ballot under this
section may be made in any of the following ways:
(a) By a written request signed by the voter.
(b) On an absent voter ballot application form provided for
that purpose by the clerk of the city or township.
(c) On a federal postcard application.
(4) An applicant for an absent voter ballot shall sign the
application. Subject to section 761(2), a clerk or assistant clerk shall not
deliver an absent voter ballot to an applicant who does not sign the
application. A person shall not be in possession of a signed absent voter
ballot application except for the applicant; a member of the applicant’s
immediate family; a person residing in the applicant’s household; a person whose
job normally includes the handling of mail, but only during the course of his
or her employment; a registered elector requested by the applicant to return
the application; or a clerk, assistant of the clerk, or other authorized
election official. A registered elector who is requested by the applicant to
return his or her absent voter ballot application shall sign the certificate on
the absent voter ballot application.
(5) The clerk of a city or township shall have absent voter
ballot application forms available in the clerk’s office at all times and shall
furnish an absent voter ballot application form to anyone upon a verbal or
written request. The absent voter ballot application must be in substantially
the following form:
“Application for absent voter ballot for:
[ ] The primary or
special primary election to be held on ___________________ (Date).
[ ] The election to be
held on ___________________ (Date).
(Check applicable election or elections)
I, .................................. , a United States
citizen and a qualified and registered elector of the ............ precinct of
the township of ............ or of the ............ ward of the city of
.................................. , in the county of
.................................. and state of Michigan, apply for an official
ballot, or ballots, to be voted by me at the election or elections as requested
in this application.
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(Street No. or R.R.) |
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.............................................................. |
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(Post Office)
(State) (Zip Code) |
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My registered address .............................................................................................. |
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(Street No. or R.R.) |
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...................................................................................................... |
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(Post Office) |
(State) |
(Zip Code) |
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Date..................................................... |
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the statements in this absent voter ballot |
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application are true. |
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............................................................................................................... |
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(Signature) |
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WARNING |
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You must be a United States citizen to vote. If you are not a
United States citizen, you will not be issued an absent voter ballot.
A person who knowingly submits an absent
voter ballot application containing false information or a forged signature is
guilty of a felony. It is a violation of Michigan election law for a person other
than those listed in the instructions to return, offer to return, agree to
return, or solicit to return your absent voter ballot application to the clerk.
An assistant authorized by the clerk who receives absent voter ballot
applications at a location other than the clerk’s office must have credentials
signed by the clerk. Ask to see his or her credentials before entrusting your
application with a person claiming to have the clerk’s authorization to return
your application.
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Certificate of Authorized Registered |
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Elector Returning Absent Voter |
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Ballot Application |
I certify that my name is .................... , my address
is .................... , and my date of birth is ............ ; that I am
delivering the absent voter ballot application of .................... at his
or her request; that I did not solicit or request to return the application;
that I have not made any markings on the application; that I have not altered
the application in any way; that I have not influenced the applicant; and that
I am aware that a false statement in this certificate is a violation of
Michigan election law.
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(Date) (Signature)" |
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(6) The following
instructions for an applicant for an absent voter ballot must be included with
each application furnished an applicant:
Step 1. After
completely filling out the application, sign and date the application in the
place designated. Your signature must appear on the application or you may
not receive
an absent voter ballot.
Step 2. Deliver
the application by 1 of the following methods:
(a) Place the
application in an envelope addressed to the appropriate clerk and place the
necessary postage upon the return envelope and deposit it in the United States
mail or with another public postal service, express mail service, parcel post
service, or common carrier.
(b) Deliver the
application personally to the clerk’s office, to the clerk, or to an authorized
assistant of the clerk.
(c) In either (a)
or (b), a member of the immediate family of the voter including a
father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law,
daughter-in-law, grandparent, or grandchild or a person residing in the voter’s
household may mail or deliver the application to the clerk for the applicant.
(d) If an
applicant cannot return the application in any of the above methods, the
applicant may select any registered elector to return the application. The
person returning the application must sign and return the certificate at the
bottom of the application.
(7) A person who
prints and distributes absent voter ballot applications shall print on the
application the warning, certificate of authorized registered elector returning
absent voter ballot application, and instructions required by this section.
(8) A person who
is not authorized in this act and who both distributes absent voter ballot
applications to absent voters and returns those absent voter ballot
applications to a clerk or assistant of the clerk is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(9) Except as otherwise expressly authorized by law, a person who knowingly fills out an absent voter ballot application and who without consent submits or causes to be submitted that absent voter ballot application containing or using another person’s name and personal identification information is guilty of a felony.
(10) A person who knowingly fills out and submits or causes to be submitted an absent voter ballot application with the intent to obtain multiple absent voter ballots for a person is guilty of a felony.
(11) A person who knowingly submits an absent voter ballot application containing false information or a forged signature is guilty of a felony.
Secretary of the Senate
Clerk of the House of Representatives
Approved___________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Governor
