HOUSE BILL No. 5064 October 27, 1999, Introduced by Rep. Bishop and referred to the Committee on Constitutional Law and Ethics. A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled "Michigan election law," by amending sections 31, 476, 552, 961a, and 963 (MCL 168.31, 168.476, 168.552, 168.961a, and 168.963), section 31 as amended by 1998 PA 215, section 552 as amended by 1990 PA 7, and sections 961a and 963 as amended by 1982 PA 456. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 31. (1) The secretary of statein addition to other2powers and duties conferred upon him or her has the power and it3is his or her duty toSHALL do all of the following: 4 (a)To prepare rules, regulations, and instructions5 SUBJECT TO SUBSECTION (2), ISSUE INSTRUCTIONS AND PROMULGATE 6 RULES PURSUANT TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES ACT OF 1969, 1969 7 PA 306, MCL 24.201 TO 24.328, for the conduct of elections and 8 registrations in accordance with the laws of this state. 04803'99 TMV 2 1 (b)To adviseADVISE and direct local election officials 2 as to the proper methods of conducting elections. 3 (c)To publishPUBLISH and furnish for the use in each 4 election precinct before each state primary and election a manual 5 of instructions that includes specific instructions on assisting 6 voters in casting their ballots, directions on the location of 7 voting stations in polling places, procedures and forms for pro- 8 cessing challenges, and procedures on prohibiting campaigning in 9 the polling places as prescribed in this act. 10 (d)To publishPUBLISH indexed pamphlet copies of the reg- 11 istration, primary, and election laws andtofurnish to the 12 various county, city, township, and village clerks a sufficient 13 number of copies for their own use and to enable them to include 14 1 copy with the election supplies furnished each precinct board 15 of election inspectors under their respective jurisdictions.,16and theTHE secretary of state may furnish single copies of the 17 publications to organizations or individuals who request the same 18 for purposes of instruction or public reference. 19 (e)To prescribePRESCRIBE and require uniform forms, 20 notices, and supplies the secretary of state considers advisable 21 for use in the conduct of elections and registrations. 22 (f)To preparePREPARE the form of ballot for any proposed 23 amendment to the constitution or proposal under the initiative or 24 referendum provision of the constitution to be submitted to the 25 voters of this state. 26 (g)To requireREQUIRE reports from the local election 27 officials the secretary of state considers necessary. 04803'99 3 1 (h)To investigateINVESTIGATE, or cause to be 2 investigated by local authorities, the administration of election 3 laws, andtoreport violations of the election laws and regula- 4 tions to the attorney general or prosecuting attorney, or both, 5 for prosecution. 6 (i)To publishPUBLISH in the legislative manual the vote 7 for governor and secretary of state by townships and wards and 8 the vote for members of the state legislature cast at the preced- 9 ing November election, which shall be returned to the secretary 10 of state by the county clerks on or before the first day of 11 December following the election.It is also the duty of all12clerks toALL CLERKS SHALL furnish to the secretary of state, 13 promptly and without compensation, any further information 14 requested of them to be used in the compilation of the 15 LEGISLATIVE manual. 16 (j)To establishESTABLISH a curriculum for comprehensive 17 training and accreditation of all county, city, township, vil- 18 lage, and school elections officials. 19 (k)To establishESTABLISH and require attendance by all 20 new appointed or elected election officials at an initial course 21 of instruction within 6 months before the date of the election. 22 (l)To establishESTABLISH a comprehensive training cur- 23 riculum for all precinct inspectors. 24 (m)To createCREATE an election day dispute resolution 25 team that has regional representatives of the department of 26 state, which team shall appear on site, if necessary. 04803'99 4 1 (2) PURSUANT TO THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES ACT OF 1969, 2 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 TO 24.328, THE SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 3 PROMULGATE RULES ESTABLISHING UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR BOTH OF THE 4 FOLLOWING: 5 (A) STATE AND LOCAL NOMINATING, RECALL, AND BALLOT QUESTION 6 PETITION SHEETS. THE STANDARDS MAY INCLUDE, BUT NEED NOT BE 7 LIMITED TO, STANDARDS FOR PETITION SHEET HEADINGS AND 8 CIRCULATORS' CERTIFICATES. 9 (B) STATE AND LOCAL NOMINATING, RECALL, AND BALLOT QUESTION 10 PETITION SIGNATURES. THE STANDARDS FOR PETITION SIGNATURES MAY 11 INCLUDE, BUT NEED NOT BE LIMITED TO, STANDARDS FOR ALL OF THE 12 FOLLOWING: 13 (i) DETERMINING THE VALIDITY OF REGISTRATION OF A CIRCULATOR 14 OR INDIVIDUAL SIGNING A PETITION. 15 (ii) DETERMINING THE GENUINENESS OF THE SIGNATURE OF A CIR- 16 CULATOR OR INDIVIDUAL SIGNING A PETITION. 17 (iii) PROPER DESIGNATION OF THE PLACE OF REGISTRATION OF A 18 CIRCULATOR OR INDIVIDUAL SIGNING A PETITION. 19 Sec. 476. (1) Upon receipt ofsaidTHE petitions,said20boardTHE BOARD OF STATE CANVASSERS shall canvass thesame21 PETITIONS to ascertain ifsuchTHE petitions have been signed 22 by the requisite number of qualified and registered electors.,23and for the purpose of determining the validity thereof,THE 24 BOARD may cause any doubtful signatures to be checked against the 25 registration records by the clerk of any political subdivision in 26 whichsaidTHE petitions were circulated,for properly27determiningTO DETERMINE the authenticity ofsuchTHE 04803'99 5 1 signatures.It shall be the duty ofUPON REQUEST, the clerk of 2 any political subdivisiontoSHALL cooperate fully withsaid3 THE boardin any request made to said clerks by said boardin 4 determining the validity of doubtful signatures by rechecking the 5sameSIGNATURE against registration records, and said clerk6shall make the requested rechecksin an expeditious and proper 7 manner.Said8 (2) THE board OF STATE CANVASSERS may hold hearings upon any 9 complaints filed or for any purposedeemedCONSIDERED necessary 10 bysaidTHE board to conduct investigations ofsaidTHE 11 petitions., and to conduct said hearings said board shall have12the power toTO CONDUCT A HEARING, THE BOARD MAY issue subpoenas 13 andtoadminister oaths.SaidTHE board may also adjourn 14 from time to time awaiting receipt of returns from investigations 15 that are being made or for other necessary purposes, but shall 16 completesaidTHE canvass at least 2 monthsprior toBEFORE 17 the election at whichsuch proposals areTHE PROPOSAL IS to be 18 submitted. 19 (3) IF A PERSON HAS FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE BOARD OF 20 STATE CANVASSERS ABOUT THE VALIDITY OF THE REGISTRATION OR THE 21 GENUINENESS OF THE SIGNATURE OF A CIRCULATOR OR PERSON SIGNING 22 THE PETITIONS, THE BOARD SHALL NOTIFY THE COMPLAINANT IN WRITING 23 OF THE BOARD'S DETERMINATION AS TO THE MATTER COMPLAINED OF AT 24 LEAST 1 WEEK BEFORE THE BOARD MAKES ITS OFFICIAL DECLARATION OF 25 THE SUFFICIENCY OR INSUFFICIENCY OF THE PETITIONS UNDER SECTION 26 477. THE NOTICE SHALL INCLUDE DETAILED FINDINGS ON WHICH THE 27 BOARD BASED ITS DETERMINATION. 04803'99 6 1 Sec. 552. (1) The county or city clerk, after the last day 2namedSPECIFIED in this act for receiving and filing nominating 3 petitions, shall immediately certify to the proper board or 4 boards of election commissioners in the city, county, district, 5 or state the name and post office address of each party candidate 6 whose petitions meet the requirements of this act, together with 7 the name of the political party and the office for which he or 8 she is a candidate. 9 (2) If the county clerk receives a sworn complaint, in writ- 10 ing, questioning the validity of the registration or genuineness 11 of the signature of the circulator or of a person signing a peti- 12 tion filed with the county clerk for an office, the county clerk 13 shall commence an investigation and shall cause the petition that 14 he or she considers necessary to be forwarded to the proper city 15 clerk or township clerk to compare the signatures appearing on 16 the petition with the signatures appearing on the registration 17 record, or in some other proper manner determine whether the sig- 18 natures appearing on the petition are valid and genuine. If the 19 request has been made by the county clerk, the city clerk or 20 township clerk shall complete the investigation and report his or 21 her findings to the county clerk within 7 days after the 22 request. The investigation shall include the validity of the 23 signatures and the genuineness of a petition as is specified in 24 the sworn complaint and may include any other doubtful signatures 25 or petitions filed on behalf of the candidate against whose peti- 26 tions the sworn complaint is directed, as the county clerk 27 considers necessary. A complaint respecting the validity and 04803'99 7 1 genuineness of signatures on a petition shall not be acted upon 2 unless the complaint sets forth the specific signatures claimed 3 to be invalid and the specific petition for which the complaint 4 questions the validity and genuineness of the signature or regis- 5 tration of the circulator, and unless the complaint is received 6 by the county clerk within 7 days after thestatutory date7 DEADLINE for the filing of the nominating petitions. 8 (3) In addition to the duty specified in subsection (2) for 9 the examination of petitions, the county clerk, on his or her own 10 initiative, on receipt of the nominating petitions, may examine 11 the petitions, and if after examination the county clerk is in 12 doubt as to the validity of the registration or genuineness of 13 the signature of the circulator or persons signing or 14purportingPURPORTED tosignHAVE SIGNED the petitions, the 15 county clerk shall commence an investigation and shall cause the 16 petitions in question to be forwarded to the proper city clerk or 17 township clerk to compare the signatures appearing on the peti- 18 tions with the signatures appearing on the registration records, 19 or in some other proper manner to determine whether the signa- 20 tures appearing on the petitions are valid and genuine. 21 (4) The clerk of a political subdivision shall cooperate 22 fully with the county clerk in a request made to the clerk by the 23 county clerk in determining the validity of doubtful signatures 24 by checking the signatures against registration records in an 25 expeditious and proper manner. 26 (5) IF A PERSON HAS FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE COUNTY CLERK 27 ABOUT THE VALIDITY OF THE REGISTRATION OR THE GENUINENESS OF THE 04803'99 8 1 SIGNATURE OF A CIRCULATOR OR PERSON SIGNING THE PETITIONS, THE 2 COUNTY CLERK SHALL NOTIFY THE COMPLAINANT IN WRITING OF THE 3 COUNTY CLERK'S DETERMINATION AS TO THE MATTER COMPLAINED OF AT 4 LEAST 1 WEEK BEFORE THE COUNTY CLERK MAKES ITS OFFICIAL DECLARA- 5 TION OF THE SUFFICIENCY OR INSUFFICIENCY OF THE NOMINATING PETI- 6 TIONS UNDER SUBSECTION (6). THE NOTICE SHALL INCLUDE DETAILED 7 FINDINGS ON WHICH THE COUNTY CLERK BASED ITS DETERMINATION. 8 (6)(5)Upon the completion of the investigation or exami- 9 nation, the county clerk shall immediately make an official dec- 10 laration of the sufficiency or insufficiency of nominating peti- 11 tions for which a sworn complaint has been received or of the 12 sufficiency or insufficiency of nominating petitions that the 13 county clerk has examined or investigated on his or her own 14 initiative. A person feeling aggrieved by a determination made 15 by the county clerk may have the determination reviewed by the 16 secretary of state,ifBY FILING A written requestis filed17 with the secretary of state within 3 days after the official dec- 18 laration of the county clerk, unless the third day falls on a 19 Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, in which caseappealTHE 20 REQUEST may be filed not later than 4 p.m. on the next day that 21 is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday., or22 ALTERNATIVELY, THE AGGRIEVED PERSON may have the determination of 23 the county clerk reviewed by filing a mandamus, certiorari, or 24 other appropriate remedy in the circuit court. A personhaving25 WHO filed a nominating petition, feelingAND FEELS aggrieved 26 by the determination of the secretary of state,may then have 04803'99 9 1 that determination reviewed by mandamus, certiorari, or other 2 appropriate remedy in the circuit court. 3 (7)(6)A city clerk with whom nominating petitions are 4 filed may examine the petitions and investigate the validity and 5 genuineness of signatures appearing on the petitions by checking 6 the signatures against registration records. The city clerk 7 shall make a determination as to the sufficiency or insufficiency 8 of the petitions upon the completion of the examination or inves- 9 tigation, and shall make an official declaration of the 10 findings. A party feeling aggrieved by the determination has the 11 same rights of review as in case of a determination by the county 12 clerk. 13 (8)(7)Upon the filing ofnominationNOMINATING peti- 14 tions with the secretary of state, the secretary of state shall 15 notify the board of state canvassers within 5 days after the last 16 day for the filing of the petitions. The notification shall be 17 by first-class mail. Upon the receipt of thenomination18 NOMINATING petitions, the board of state canvassers shall canvass 19 the petitions to ascertain if the petitions have been signed by 20 the requisite number of qualified and registered electors and, 21 for the purpose of determining the validity of the signatures, 22 may cause a doubtful signature to be checked against the regis- 23 tration records by the clerk of a political subdivision in which 24 the petitions were circulated. If the board of state canvassers 25 receives a sworn complaint, in writing, questioning the validity 26 of the registration or genuineness of the signature of the 27 circulator or of a person signing a nominating petition filed 04803'99 10 1 with the secretary of state, the board of state canvassers shall 2 commence an investigation and shall cause the petition to be for- 3 warded to the proper city clerk or township clerk to compare the 4 signatures appearing on the petition with the signatures appear- 5 ing on the registration record, or in some other manner determine 6 whether the signatures appearing on the petition are valid and 7 genuine. A complaint respecting the validity and genuineness of 8 signatures on a petition shall not be acted upon unless the com- 9 plaint sets forth the specific signatures claimed to be invalid 10 and the specific petition for which the complaint questions the 11 validity and genuineness of the signature or registration of the 12 circulator, and unless the complaint is received by the board of 13 state canvassers within 7 days after thestatutory date14 DEADLINE for the filing of the nominating petitions. The clerk 15 of a political subdivision shall cooperate fully with the board 16 of state canvassers in a request made to the clerk by the board 17 of state canvassers in determining the validity of doubtful sig- 18 natures by rechecking the signatures against registration records 19 in an expeditious and proper manner. 20 (9)(8)The board of state canvassers may hold a hearing 21 upon a complaint filed or for a purpose considered necessary by 22 the board of state canvassers to conduct an investigation of the 23 petitions. In conducting a hearing, the board of state canvass- 24 ers may issue subpoenas and administer oaths. The board of state 25 canvassers may also adjourn periodically awaiting receipt of 26 returns from investigations that are being made or for other 27 necessary purposes, but shall complete the canvass not less than 04803'99 11 1 9 weeks before the primary election at which candidates are to be 2 nominated. 3 (10) IF A PERSON HAS FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE BOARD OF 4 STATE CANVASSERS ABOUT THE VALIDITY OF THE REGISTRATION OR THE 5 GENUINENESS OF THE SIGNATURE OF A CIRCULATOR OR PERSON SIGNING 6 THE PETITIONS, THE BOARD SHALL NOTIFY THE COMPLAINANT IN WRITING 7 OF THE BOARD'S DETERMINATION AS TO THE MATTER COMPLAINED OF AT 8 LEAST 1 WEEK BEFORE THE BOARD MAKES ITS OFFICIAL DECLARATION OF 9 THE SUFFICIENCY OR INSUFFICIENCY OF THE PETITIONS UNDER SUBSEC- 10 TION (11). THE NOTICE SHALL INCLUDE DETAILED FINDINGS ON WHICH 11 THE BOARD BASED ITS DETERMINATION. 12 (11)(9)An official declaration of the sufficiency or 13 insufficiency of anominationNOMINATING petition shall be made 14 by the board of state canvassers not less than 9 weeks before the 15 primary election at which candidates are to be nominated. At the 16 time of filing anominationNOMINATING petition with the secre- 17 tary of state, the person filing the petition may request a 18 notice of the approval or rejection of the petition. If such a 19 request is made at the time of filing of the petition, the secre- 20 tary of state, immediately upon the determination of approval or 21 rejection, shall transmit by registered mail to the person making 22 the request an official notice of the sufficiency or insuffi- 23 ciency of the petitions. 24 (12)(10)A person, having filed anominationNOMINATING 25 petition with the secretary of state, feeling aggrieved by a 26 determination made by the board of state canvassers, may have the 04803'99 12 1 determination reviewed by mandamus, certiorari, or other 2 appropriate remedy in the supreme court. 3 (13)(11)Not less than 9 weeks before the primary elec- 4 tion at which candidates are to be nominated, the secretary of 5 state shall certify to the proper boards of election commission- 6 ers in the various counties in the state, the name and post 7 office address of each partisan or nonpartisan candidate whose 8 petitions have been filed with the secretary of state and meet 9 the requirements of this act, together with the name of the 10 political party, if any, and the office for which he or she is a 11 candidate. 12 Sec. 961a. (1) Not later than the business day following 13 the filing of a recall petition, the official with whom the 14 recall was filed shall notify in writing the officer whose recall 15 is sought that the recall petition has been filed. 16 (2) An officer whose recall is sought may challenge the 17 validity ofa signature orthe registrationof an elector18whose name appears upon aOR THE GENUINENESS OF THE SIGNATURE OF 19 A CIRCULATOR OR PERSON SIGNING THE recall petition. A challenge 20 shall be in writing, specifying the challenged signature, and 21 shall be delivered to the filing official within 30 days after 22 the filing of the petitions. The officer whose recall is sought 23 shall have not less than 8 days after the clerk has examined the 24 signatures to check signatures on the original registration 25 records. 26 (3) A challenged signature shall be compared with the 27 signature on the original registration record. 04803'99 13 1 (4) IF AN OFFICER WHOSE RECALL IS SOUGHT HAS CHALLENGED THE 2 VALIDITY OF THE REGISTRATION OR THE GENUINENESS OF THE SIGNATURE 3 OF A CIRCULATOR OR PERSON SIGNING THE PETITIONS, THE FILING OFFI- 4 CIAL SHALL NOTIFY THE OFFICER IN WRITING OF THE FILING OFFICIAL'S 5 DETERMINATION AS TO THE MATTER COMPLAINED OF AT LEAST 1 WEEK 6 BEFORE THE FILING OFFICIAL MAKES HIS OR HER OFFICIAL DECLARATION 7 OF THE SUFFICIENCY OR INSUFFICIENCY OF THE PETITIONS UNDER SEC- 8 TION 963. THE NOTICE SHALL INCLUDE DETAILED FINDINGS ON WHICH 9 THE FILING OFFICIAL BASED HIS OR HER DETERMINATION. 10 Sec. 963. (1)The filing official with whom the recall11petition is filed shall determine, withinWITHIN 35 days after 12 the filing of the recall petition, thesufficiencyFILING OFFI- 13 CIAL WITH WHOM THE RECALL PETITION IS FILED SHALL MAKE AN OFFI- 14 CIAL DECLARATION OF THE SUFFICIENCY OR INSUFFICIENCY of the 15 petition. If the recall petition isfoundDETERMINED to be 16 insufficient, the filing official shall notify the person or 17 organization sponsoring the recall of the insufficiency of the 18 petition. Itshall not beIS NOT necessary to give notifica- 19 tion unless the person or organization sponsoring the recall 20 files with the filing official a written notice of sponsorship 21 and a mailing address. 22 (2) Immediately uponascertainingDETERMINING that the 23 petition is sufficient, but not later than 35 days after the date 24 of filing of the petition, the county clerk with whom the peti- 25 tion is filed shall submit to the county election scheduling com- 26 mittee a proposed date for a special election to be held within 27 60 days after the submission to the county scheduling committee 04803'99 14 1 to determine whether the electors will recall the officer whose 2 recall is sought. 3 (3) If a petition is filed under section 959, the officer 4 with whom the petition is filed shall not submit a proposed date 5 to the county election scheduling committee but shall call the 6 special election subject to thesametime limitations set out 7 in this section. 04803'99 Final page. TMV