HB-6028, As Passed House, July 14, 2004

SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE BILL NO. 6028

                                                                             A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled                                             

"Michigan election law,"                                                    

by amending section 761 (MCL 168.761), as amended by 1996 PA                

207.                                                                        

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

1       Sec. 761.  (1) If the clerk of a city, township, or village                 

2   receives an application for an absent voter ballot from a person            

3   registered to vote in that city, township, or village and if the            

4   signature on the application agrees with the signature on the               

5   registration card, the clerk shall proceed under this                       

6   subsection.  The clerk immediately upon receipt of the                      

7   application or, if the application is received before the                   

8   printing of the absent voter ballots, as soon as the ballots are            

9   received by the clerk, shall forward by mail, postage prepaid, or           

10  shall deliver personally 1 of the ballots or set of ballots if              

1   there is more than 1 kind of ballot to be voted to the                      

2   applicant.  Absent voter ballots may be delivered to an applicant           

3   in person at the office of the clerk.                                       

4       (2) Notwithstanding the provision in section 759  ,                         

5   providing  that no absent voter applications shall be received by           

6   the clerk after 2 p.m. on the Saturday before the election, a               

7   person qualified to vote as an absent voter may apply in person             

8   at the clerk's office before 4 p.m. on a day  preceding before

9   the election except Sunday or a legal holiday to vote as an                 

10  absent voter.  The applicant shall receive his or her absent                

11  voter ballot and vote the ballot in the clerk's office.  All                

12  other absent voter ballots, except ballots delivered  pursuant

13  according to an emergency absent voter ballot application under             

14  section 759b, shall be mailed or delivered to the registration              

15  address of the applicant unless the  application applicant

16  requests delivery to an address outside the city, village, or               

17  township or to a hospital or similar institution.  , in which               

18  case If the applicant requests delivery to other than the                  

19  applicant's registration address, the absent voter ballots shall            

20  be mailed or delivered to the address given in the application.             

21  However, a A clerk may mail or deliver an absent voter ballot,            

22  upon request of the absent voter, to a post office box if the               

23  post office box is where the absent voter normally receives                 

24  personal mail and the absent voter does not receive mail at his             

25  or her registration address.                                                

26      (3) Absent voter ballots shall be issued in the same order in               

27  which applications are received by the clerk of a city, township,           

1   or village, as  nearly as may be close as possible, and each               

2   ballot issued shall bear the lowest number of each kind available           

3   for this purpose.   However, this This provision does not                  

4   prohibit a clerk from immediately issuing an absent voter ballot            

5   to an absent voter who applies in person in the clerk's office              

6   for absent voter ballots.  The clerk shall enclose with the                 

7   ballot or ballots a return envelope properly addressed to the               

8   clerk and bearing upon the back of the envelope a printed                   

9   statement in substantially the following form:                              

10                           TO BE COMPLETED                                    

11                             BY THE CLERK                                     

12  ______________________________  _________________________________           

13           Name of Voter                Street Address or R.R.                

14  ______________________________  _________________________________           

15     City, Township or Village                  County                        

16  Ward _______  Precinct _______  Date of Election_________________           

17  =================================================================           

18                 TO BE COMPLETED BY THE ABSENT VOTER                          

19                                                                               I assert that I am a qualified and registered elector of the                      

20  city, township, or village named above.  I am voting as an absent           

21  voter in conformity with state election law.  Unless otherwise              

22  indicated below, I personally marked the ballot enclosed in this            

23  envelope without exhibiting it to any other person.                         

24  If applicable, I also acknowledge that the person named below                      

25  was in my physical presence and assisted me in marking my ballot            

26  or marked my ballot for me at my direction.

27                                                                               I further assert that this absent voter ballot is being                           

28  returned to the clerk or an assistant of the clerk by me                    

29  personally; by public postal service, express mail service,                 

1   parcel post service, or other common carrier; by a member of my             

2   immediate family; or by a person residing in my household.                  

3     DATE:_____         SIGN HERE:  X______________________________            

4                                     Signature of Absent Voter                 

5   The above form must be signed or your vote will not be counted.             

6   AN ABSENT VOTER WHO KNOWINGLY MAKES A FALSE STATEMENT IS GUILTY             

7   OF A MISDEMEANOR.                                                           

8   =================================================================           

9          TO BE COMPLETED ONLY IF VOTER IS ASSISTED IN VOTING                  

10                          BY ANOTHER PERSON                                   

11                                                                               I assisted the above named absent voter who is  disabled a                       

12  person with a disability or who is otherwise unable to mark the             

13  ballot in marking his or her absent voter ballot  pursuant

14  according to his or her directions and in his or her physical               

15  presence.  The absent voter ballot was inserted in the return               

16  envelope without being exhibited to any other person or revealing           

17  the selections made by the absent voter to any other person.                

18  ____________________ ______________________ ______________________          

19  Signature of Person                                                        

20     Assisting Voter   Street Address or R.R.  State, City, Twp., or          

21                                                      Village                 

22  _________________________________________________________________

23  Printed Name of Person Assisting Voter

24  A PERSON WHO ASSISTS AN ABSENT VOTER AND WHO KNOWINGLY MAKES A              

25  FALSE STATEMENT IS GUILTY OF A FELONY.                                      

26  =================================================================           

27  WARNING

28      PERSONS WHO CAN LEGALLY BE IN POSSESSION OF AN ABSENT VOTER                 

29  BALLOT ISSUED TO AN ABSENT VOTER ARE LIMITED TO THE ABSENT VOTER;           

30  A PERSON WHO IS A MEMBER OF THE ABSENT VOTER'S IMMEDIATE FAMILY             

31  OR RESIDES IN THE ABSENT VOTER'S HOUSEHOLD AND WHO HAS BEEN ASKED           

1   BY THE ABSENT VOTER TO RETURN THE BALLOT; A PERSON WHOSE JOB IT             

2   IS TO HANDLE MAIL BEFORE, DURING, OR AFTER BEING TRANSPORTED BY A           

3   PUBLIC POSTAL SERVICE, EXPRESS MAIL SERVICE, PARCEL POST SERVICE,           

4   OR COMMON CARRIER, BUT ONLY DURING THE NORMAL COURSE OF HIS OR              

5   HER EMPLOYMENT; AND THE CLERK, ASSISTANTS OF THE CLERK, AND OTHER           

6   AUTHORIZED ELECTION OFFICIALS OF THE CITY, TOWNSHIP, VILLAGE, OR            

7   SCHOOL DISTRICT.  ANY OTHER PERSON IN POSSESSION OF AN ABSENT               

8   VOTER BALLOT IS GUILTY OF A FELONY.                                         

9   (4) A clerk may use absent voter ballot envelop stock                       

10  purchased before March 28, 1996 for the remainder of the 1996               

11  calendar year if both of the following requirements are                     

12  satisfied:                                                                  

13      (a) The warning in subsection (3) that describes persons who                

14  can legally be in possession of an absent voter ballot is affixed           

15  to the outside of the envelope.                                             

16      (b) All other instructions required under subsection (3)                    

17  regarding persons assisting the absent voter are inserted into              

18  the absent voter ballot envelope.

19  (4)  (5)  An absent voter who knowingly makes a false                       

20  statement on the absent voter ballot return envelope is guilty of           

21  a misdemeanor.  A person who assists an absent voter and who                

22  knowingly makes a false statement on the absent voter ballot                

23  return envelope is guilty of a felony.                                      

24      Enacting section 1.  This amendatory act takes effect March                 

25  1, 2005.