HOUSE BILL NO. 4568
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending section 931 (MCL 168.931), as amended by 1996 PA 583.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 931. (1) A person An individual who violates 1 or more of the following subdivisions is guilty of a misdemeanor:
(a) A person An individual shall not, either directly or indirectly, give, lend, or promise valuable consideration , to or for any person, individual as an inducement to influence the manner of voting by a person an individual relative to a candidate or ballot question , or as a reward for refraining from voting.
(b) A person An individual shall not, either before, on, or after an election, for the person's individual's own benefit or on behalf of any other person, individual, receive, agree, or contract for valuable consideration for 1 or more of the following:
(i) Voting or agreeing to vote, or inducing or attempting to induce another to vote, at an election.
(ii) Refraining or agreeing to refrain, or inducing or attempting to induce another to refrain, from voting at an election.
(iii) Doing anything prohibited by this act.
(iv) Both distributing absent voter ballot applications to voters and receiving signed applications from voters for delivery to the appropriate clerk or assistant of the clerk. This subparagraph does not apply to an authorized election official.
(c) A person An individual shall not solicit any valuable consideration from a candidate for nomination for, or election to, an office described in this act. This subdivision does not apply to requests for contributions of money by or to an authorized representative of the political party committee of the organization to which the candidate belongs. This subdivision does not apply to a regular business transaction between a candidate and any other person that is not intended for, or connected with, the securing of votes or the influencing of voters in connection with the nomination or election.
(d) A person An individual shall not, either directly or indirectly, discharge or threaten to discharge an employee of the person individual for the purpose of influencing the employee's vote at an election.
(e) A priest, pastor, curate, or other officer of a religious society shall not for the purpose of influencing a voter at an election, impose or threaten to impose upon the voter a penalty of excommunication, dismissal, or expulsion , or command or advise the voter , under pain of religious disapproval.
(f) A person shall not hire a motor vehicle or other conveyance or cause the same to be done, for conveying voters, other than voters physically unable to walk, to an election.
(f) (g) In a city, township, village, or school district that has a board of election commissioners authorized to appoint inspectors of election, an inspector of election, a clerk, or other election official who accepts an appointment as an inspector of election shall not fail to report at the polling place designated on election morning at the time specified by the board of election commissioners, unless excused as provided in this subdivision. A person An individual who violates this subdivision is guilty of a misdemeanor , punishable by a fine of not more than $10.00 or imprisonment for not more than 10 days, or both. An inspector of election, clerk, or other election official who accepts an appointment as an inspector of election is excused for failing to report at the polling place on election day and is not subject to a fine or imprisonment under this subdivision if 1 or more of the following requirements are met:
(i) The inspector of election, clerk, or other election official notifies the board of election commissioners or other officers in charge of elections of his or her the inability to serve at the time and place specified, 3 days or more before the election.
(ii) The inspector of election, clerk, or other election official is excused from duty by the board of election commissioners or other officers in charge of elections for cause shown.
(g) (h) A person An individual shall not willfully fail to perform a duty imposed upon that person individual by this act , or disobey a lawful instruction or order of the secretary of state as chief state election officer or of a board of county election commissioners, board of city election commissioners, or board of inspectors of election.
(h) (i) A delegate or member of a convention shall not solicit a candidate for nomination before the convention for money, reward, position, place, preferment, or other valuable consideration in return for support by the delegate or member in the convention. A candidate or other person individual shall not promise or give to a delegate money, reward, position, place, preferment, or other valuable consideration in return for support by or vote of the delegate in the convention.
(i) (j) A person An individual elected to the office of delegate to a convention shall not accept or receive any money or other valuable consideration for his or her the individual's vote as a delegate.
(j) (k) A person An individual shall not, while the polls are open on an election day, solicit votes in a polling place or within 100 feet from an entrance to the building in which a polling place is located.
(k) (l) A person An individual shall not keep a room or building for the purpose, in whole or in part, of recording or registering bets or wagers, or of selling pools upon the result of a political nomination, appointment, or election. A person An individual shall not wager property, money, or thing of value, or be the custodian of money, property, or thing of value , staked, wagered, or pledged upon the result of a political nomination, appointment, or election.
(l) (m) A person An individual shall not participate in a meeting or a portion of a meeting of more than 2 persons, individuals, other than the person's individual's immediate family, at which an absent voter ballot is voted.
(m) (n) A person, An individual, other than an authorized election official, shall not, either directly or indirectly, give, lend, or promise any valuable consideration to or for a person an individual to induce that person individual to both distribute absent voter ballot applications to voters and receive signed absent voter ballot applications from voters for delivery to the appropriate clerk.
(2) A person An individual who violates a provision of this act for which a penalty is not otherwise specifically provided in this act , is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(3) A person An individual or a person's an individual's agent who knowingly makes, publishes, disseminates, circulates, or places before the public, or knowingly causes directly or indirectly to be made, published, disseminated, circulated, or placed before the public, in this state, either orally or in writing, an assertion, representation, or statement of fact concerning a candidate for public office at an election in this state, that is false, deceptive, scurrilous, or malicious, without the true name of the author being subscribed to the assertion, representation, or statement if written, or announced if unwritten, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(4) As used in this section, "valuable consideration" includes, but is not limited to, money, property, a gift, a prize or chance for a prize, a fee, a loan, an office, a position, an appointment, or employment.