July 17, 2003, Introduced by Reps. Jamnick, Byrum, Accavitti, Bieda and Hardman and referred to the Committee on Local Government and Urban Policy.
A bill to amend 1954 PA 116, entitled
"Michigan election law,"
by amending sections 31, 33, and 683 (MCL 168.31, 168.33, and
168.683), section 31 as amended by 1999 PA 220 and section 33 as
amended by 2002 PA 91.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 31. (1) The secretary of state shall do all of the
2 following:
3 (a) Subject to subsection (2), issue instructions and
4 promulgate rules pursuant
to under the administrative
5 procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, for
6 the conduct of elections and registrations in accordance with the
7 laws of this state.
8 (b) Advise and direct local election officials as to the
9 proper methods of conducting elections.
1 (c) Publish and furnish for the use in each election precinct
2 before each state primary, general, and special election a manual
3 of instructions that includes specific instructions on assisting
4 voters in casting their ballots, directions on the location of
5 voting stations in polling places, procedures and forms for
6 processing challenges, and procedures on prohibiting campaigning
7 in the polling places as prescribed in this act.
8 (d) Publish indexed pamphlet copies of the registration,
9 primary, and election laws and furnish to the various county,
10 city, township, and village clerks a sufficient number of copies
11 for their own use and to enable them to include 1 copy with the
12 election supplies furnished each precinct board of election
13 inspectors under their respective jurisdictions. The secretary
14 of state may furnish single copies of the publications to
15 organizations or individuals who request the same for purposes of
16 instruction or public reference.
17 (e) Prescribe and require uniform forms, notices, and
18 supplies the secretary of state considers advisable for use in
19 the conduct of elections and registrations.
20 (f) Prepare the form
of ballot for any a proposed amendment
21 to the constitution or proposal under the initiative or
22 referendum provision of the constitution to be submitted to the
23 voters of this state.
24 (g) Require reports from the local election officials the
25 secretary of state considers necessary.
26 (h) Investigate, or cause to be investigated by local
27 authorities, the administration of election laws, and report
1 violations of the election laws and regulations to the attorney
2 general or prosecuting attorney, or both, for prosecution.
3 (i) Publish in the legislative manual the vote for governor
4 and secretary of state by townships and wards and the vote for
5 members of the state legislature cast at the preceding November
6 election , which
shall be that is returned to the secretary of
7 state by the county clerks on or before the first day of December
8 following the election. All
clerks Each clerk shall furnish to
9 the secretary of state,
promptly and without compensation, any
10 reports of the overvoting and undervoting for each jurisdiction
11 and further information
requested of them the clerk to be used
12 in the compilation of the legislative manual. The reports of the
13 overvoting and undervoting for each jurisdiction may be included
14 in the legislative manual at the discretion of the secretary of
15 state.
16 (j) Establish and implement a curriculum for comprehensive
17 training and accreditation of all county, city, township,
18 village, and school elections officials and require each clerk or
19 designee to attend and successfully complete a training school
20 conducted under section 33 not less than every 2 years. To
21 maintain his or her accreditation, each clerk, designee, or
22 election official shall complete a training school conducted
23 under section 33 every 2 years.
24 (k) Establish and require attendance by all new appointed or
25 elected election officials at an initial course of instruction
26 within 6 months before the date of the election.
27 (l) Establish a comprehensive training curriculum for all
1 precinct inspectors.
2 (m) Create an election day dispute resolution team that has
3 regional representatives
of the department of state , which team
4 shall to appear on site, if necessary.
5 (2) Pursuant to In
accordance with the administrative
6 procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328, the
7 secretary of state may promulgate rules establishing uniform
8 standards for state and local nominating, recall, and ballot
9 question petition signatures. The standards for petition
10 signatures may include, but need not be limited to, standards for
11 all of the following:
12 (a) Determining the validity of registration of a circulator
13 or individual signing a petition.
14 (b) Determining the genuineness of the signature of a
15 circulator or individual signing a petition.
16 (c) Proper designation of the place of registration of a
17 circulator or individual signing a petition.
18 Sec. 33. (1) The director of elections shall conduct
19 training schools
throughout this state preceding before the
20 general November
election, and preceding such before other
21 elections as the director
considers advisable, for county all
22 clerks and or
their representatives designees with respect to
23 the conducting of elections in accordance with the election
24 laws. Included in this training shall be instruction on the
25 uniform voting system. In
case any county clerk shall fail to
26 conduct in his or her
county a training school for election
27 boards within the
county, the director of elections shall conduct
1 such training school,
the cost of the training school to be
2 charged as an
obligation of the county.
3 (2) The director of
elections shall train all county, city,
4 and township clerks or their designees who are involved in
the
5 training of precinct election
inspectors. The training
6 curriculum shall include team training and monitoring of their
7 performance as trainers. Each clerk or designee shall attend and
8 successfully complete a training school conducted under this
9 section not less than every 2 years.
10 (3) The director of
elections shall conduct all precinct
11 election inspector training in counties where the clerk or
12 designee has not been accredited to conduct the training
13 schools school.
14 (4) If a clerk fails to conduct a training school for
15 election boards within his or her jurisdiction, the director of
16 elections shall conduct the training school and charge the cost
17 of the training school to the county.
18 Sec. 683. Each county
clerk prior to each primary,
19 general, and special election shall, by some reliable means,
20 notify the clerk of
each township and city in the county of a
21 training school for election inspectors to be held at a place
22 designated by the
county clerk within 20 days prior
to each
23 before a primary, general,
and special election . The township
24 and city clerks shall
notify each election inspector appointed to
25 serve at that election
of the time and place of such the
26 training school. At such
meeting, the county clerk the
27 training school, an accredited trainer shall train election
1 inspectors in accordance with the curriculum established in
2 sections 31 and 33 and shall
instruct and demonstrate the manner
3 in which how the duties of election inspectors are
required by
4 law to be performed. It
shall be the duty of the inspectors, so
5 notified, to attend
such meeting an election
inspector notified
6 under this section shall attend the training school unless
7 excused by the county
clerk for good cause. Compensation for
8 attending the training school may be paid them therefor by their
9 respective
municipalities at such rate as may be determined by
10 the governing bodies to an election inspector under section
11 682. No inspector of
election An election inspector shall not
12 serve in any an
election unless he shall have or she has been
13 certified to have within
the last preceding 2 years either
14 attended and successfully completed an election training school
15 or shall have passed
satisfactorily an examination given by
16 the board of
election commission commissioners of the city,
17 township, or village in which he or she was appointed. The
18 examination shall be is
subject to the approval of the
19 secretary of state. This
section shall does not prevent the
20 appointment of an inspector
of election inspector to fill a
21 vacancy. This
section shall not prohibit any city or any
22 township having a
population of 10,000 or more from conducting
23 its own training
school for election inspectors of that city or
24 township in which case
election inspectors who have attended such
25 school shall not be
required to attend the county training
26 school.